


Bonds Forged From Steel

by Kazul



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Black & Blue make you blush all over, Drinking, Edge is sexy and he knows it, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Gen, Hints of HoneyBBQ, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Multi, Mutt is a horn dog, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Reader Is Not Chara (Undertale), Reader Is Not Frisk (Undertale), Reader has a Description, Reader has bad habits, Reader has female parts, Reader has too many hobbies, Sans is an emotionally constipated jerk, Shy Rus is Shy, Skelepuns, Skeleton Band, Slice of Life, Slow Burn, Smoking, SubHeats/Ruts, puns, reader is a little crazy, reader is female, reverse-harem - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-16
Updated: 2020-08-16
Packaged: 2021-03-01 16:34:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 54,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23690134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kazul/pseuds/Kazul
Summary: Monsters have been on the surface for years, but they've only just expanded their horizons enough to make it to Long Island.You work in manufacturing, keeping mostly to yourself outside of work, but now your job has just hired some new monster employees and you get to train some of them!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Hi all! This is my first fanfiction and I've really just jumped into the deep end here... As of now, there is no set update schedule for this fic, but that may change in the future.Enjoy!~
Relationships: Alphys/Undyne (Undertale), Black/Blue - Relationship, Papyrus (Underswap)/Original Female Character, Papyrus (Undertale)/Reader, Papyrus(Swapfell)/Reader, Papyrus(Underfell)/Reader, Papyrus(Underswap)/Reader, Papyrus/Papyrus (Undertale), Sans (Underswap)/Reader, Sans (Undertale)/Reader, Sans(Underfell)/Reader, Sans(Underswap)/Sans(Swapfell), Sans(swapfell)/reader, sans/sans, skeletons/reader
Comments: 77
Kudos: 195





	1. Weld Done, You Made A PuN-PAl!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Red has his first day at his new job and you meet a fellow punster, much to the chagrin of your coworkers. Not to bad for a Monday...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Songs in this Chapter:  
> \------------------------------------  
> Down With the Sickness by Disturbed

“Ugh…” you groaned, flailing around in your bed, trying to silence the alarm on your phone. You rolled out of bed and shuffled your way to the kitchen, pausing only to slip on your purple slippers and grab your favorite purple hoodie.

With only one arm in the hoodie, you opened the fridge and pulled out one of your energy drinks, immediately cracking it open and taking a long drink.

“I hate Monday mornings…” you grumbled to the empty house, setting the can of ~~lifeblood~~ energy drink down and pulling the hoodie on properly, “... and Mondays, and mornings…”

Taking another sip of your caffeine filled drink, you grabbed the pack of smokes and the lighter on the counter and stepped out onto the back porch. Lighting your cigarette, you took a long drag as you thought about what chaos would be waiting for you at work today.

Hopefully, no one on second shift or anyone over the weekend had screwed anything up, _again_. There are honestly only so many times you could explain proper production procedures and material handling safety before you started throwing things instead of using words.

Oh, that’s right! This week you were going to be training some new hires, and not just _any_ new hires. _Monsters._ Monsters had been on the surface for a few years now, fully integrated into ‘normal’ society and all that.

You let out a snort, taking another drag. _Normal is nothing but a bunch of conformists,_ you thought to yourself, taking one last drag off your cigarette, stubbing out the remaining embers in the ashtray you kept on the railing of the porch, and threw the butt away in the trash. _Well, at least today is gonna be more interesting than usual._

Heading back into the house, you hummed to yourself as you completed the rest of your morning routine with an extra pep in your step. Living on an island, only connected to the rest of the states by bridges meant that it had taken quite some time for the monsters to move out this far. Mt. Ebott, or ‘Ground M’ as you called it in your head was practically on the other side of the country. Probably in Utah or something. You only ever half paid attention to the news, too many people whining about irrelevant issues, in your opinion.

Heading out the front, locking the door behind you, and hoping into your second hand Rav4, that you _still_ couldn’t identify the color of, you lit another cigarette, rolled down the window and headed off to work.

~ ~ ~

“aww, boss, do i hafta?” Red grumbled as his brother bustled about the kitchen, making them both breakfast.

“SANS!” Edge scolded, rolling his eyelights. “WE HAVE BEEN OVER THIS, _TWELVE_ TIMES ALREADY. _YOU_ WANTED A JOB TO KEEP YOUR MIND OFF ‘THINGS’. _YOU_ ACTUALLY MANAGED TO GET HIRED, SO NOW _YOU_ ACTUALLY HAVE TO START SAID JOB,” Edge huffed as he shoved a plate of eggs and bacon in front of his brother.

Red grumbled under his breath as he started to shovel his breakfast into his mouth. “yanno, boss… ya gotta get used ta callin me ‘red’ now tha’ we’re livin’ close wit’ th’ others…”

“SA- _RED,_ ” the taller skeleton scoffed before he got a soft look in his eye sockets. “ Red, I will call you that when you stop calling me ‘Boss’.”

The shorter skeleton looked up in surprise when his brother spoke with an ‘indoor voice’, rather than projecting throughout the entire house. “uh, yea, you got it, bo-bro,” he responded nervously, red drops of sweat beading on the back of his skull, as he fiddled with the collar around his neck.

“GOOD!” Edge said, his volume returning to normal as he turned towards the sink to wash the pan he used to cook breakfast in. “NOW, REMEMBER YOU NEED TO BE THERE FOR 10AM TO FILL OUT THE NEW HIRE PAPERWORK AND YOU SHOULD FINISH WITH IT BY ONE.”

“i know, bro,” Red rolled his eyelights. “are - are ya gonna be okay t’day wit’ me outta th’ house all day?”

“RED, I AM NOT A BABYBONES! I CAN TAKE CARE OF MYSELF, WHICH MORE THAN CAN BE SAID FOR YOU. I PLAN ON SPENDING MY DAY FINISHING WHATEVER NEEDS TO BE UNPACKED, AND MAYBE IF THERE IS TIME, I WILL SET UP THE STUDIO SOUNDPROOFING, BEFORE I PRACTICE,” Edge stated, grabbing Red’s now empty plate and placing it in the sink.

Never one to pass up an opportunity to rile up his younger brother, Red let out a chuckle. “heh, bro… yer claimin’ ya ain’t a babybones, but yer sure yellin’ like one, a ton...”

“RED, NO!”

“a skele- _ton._ ”

“NYEH!” Edge let out a frustrated shout. “Red...” he started again, using his ‘indoor voice’, “isn’t it time for you to be leaving?”

“alrigh’, alrigh’, i’m goin’” Red sighed, standing and grabbing his black fur lined hoodie. “don’ miss me too much, bro. i’ll see ya t’night at practice at th’ main house,” he called as he took a shortcut out of the kitchen with a ‘pop’

Edge let out an exasperated sigh at his brother’s usual antics but swiftly began moving about, setting the kitchen to rights and moving on to unpacking the rest of the house.

~ ~ ~

Clocking into work, you took your normal route through the production area, greeting everyone you passed. As you normally did on a Monday morning, you reviewed the work orders left on your workbench for you to take care of, and mentally created your plan of attack for the day. Popping in your earbuds, you navigated to your playlist of your favorite indie group, Forgotten Underground, and got to work.

It was business as usual for most of the morning, all your machines were behaving and all your material was where you had left it, until you came to an order to make some plastic guards for some machine or another that your company made. Grumbling, you headed over to the ancient punch machine to fire it up, hoping against hope that it would cooperate right away. And…. of course not… It _was_ Monday after all.

Sighing to yourself, you shut everything down to let it sit for a minute before starting it all up again. _I thought I was done with IT,_ you chuckled dryly to yourself, _and yet ‘Have you tried turning off and on again?’ has never been more appropriate than with this hunk of junk._ While you were letting the machine rest, you wandered over to the sheet metal department to commiserate with the ‘head’ of sheet metal, Blake.

“Blaaaaake,” you whined, pouting dramatically, as you walked up.

“Eh? Punch not workin’?” the large Jamaican man let out a chuckle, too accustomed to your antics by now.

“Yeah… it’s throwing a bitchfit with non-existent errors again, and I’ve got a bunch of Lexan shit to run,” you drawled, waving to Mark, the other regular sheet metal guy, a soft-spoken man of Hispanic descent. “At least the laser’s working, but man, I am sooo done with circles.”

Both men laughed, and Mark chimed in. “You have all the material you need, ___?”

You nodded, “Yeah, got that all prepped on Friday. Might need to bug one of you later to help swap pallets on the laser though, but that depends on how quickly I get through the current stuff.”

Blake rolled his eyes at you and chided, “Learn ta drive a fork truck, ___”

“Nah, I’d rather come bug you,” You smirked at the Jamaican. “Oh! Did you hear about the new hires starting this week?”

“The monsters? Yeah, seems pretty cool.”

“Any idea where they’ll be working?” Mark asked.

“I know at least one of ‘em will be with me,” you answered with a smile that was just a tad maniacal.

“Poor sap...” Blake sent you a shit-eating grin.

“Oh, go sit on a cactus,” you glared back, but almost immediately started giggling. “Anyways, I’m gonna go try the punch again. Bug ya later.”

Walking back over to the beast of a machine, you tried once again to start it up. It got about halfway through its startup process before stalling out at a point where it _could_ continue to boot up, if you were lucky. Rolling your eyes, you flipped off the machine as you moved back over to the laser area, or as you called it, your ‘laser lair’, and continued pulling out finished parts. Singing along to your music, you made decent progress through the finished parts, until Blake walked by and tugged out one of your earbuds.

“Break time, ___.”

“Oh, yay!” You pulled off your work gloves and followed the crew outside for a smoke break. Looking down at your phone, you paused your music and flipped through a few of your games, before D, one of the QC guys strolled over.

“Sup, ___,” he greeted, lighting up his own smoke.

“Sup, D,” you returned, with a smile.

“You see the new guy yet?”

“No, I’ve been fighting with the punch again.”

D laughed, “Girl, you ain’t given up on that yet?”

“Noooo! I can’t cut plastics on my laser!” you whined, drawing another laugh out of D. “Have _you_ seen the new guy?”

“Yep, passed him in the lobby on my way out.”

“ _And?!?_ ”

“He’s a skeleton.”

“Dude!” You exclaimed excitedly. “That’s so awesome!”

“Ain’t you worried ‘bout him? He’s _literally_ all bones. Wouldn’t that be worse than expecting Simon to run things?”

You snorted, thinking of the tiny engineer that worked in Research and Development. “I’m sure it’ll be fine. Besides, I’m fairly certain the metal would be throwing _Simon_ around if he tried to do anything.”

You and D shared a laugh as you both headed back inside, and got back to the daily grind.

Meanwhile, Red had finally arrived, on time for once, but had to wait down in the lobby until someone actually came to get him. He had been shown upstairs, and led into the HR office, where his new hire paperwork was waiting to be filled out.

“So, Mr. Aster, did you have any other questions for me? Otherwise I’ll just leave you alone to fill out the rest of the forms in peace.”

“nah, i’m good,” Red let out a sigh as he flipped through the stack of papers.

“Alrighty then! I’ll be back in a little bit to check on you.”

Red discreetly rolled his eyelights at the bubbly HR lady, not bothering to even attempt to learn her name. He started in on the pile of forms, filling everything rather hastily, and as a result, the handwriting was just barely legible. Scanning over the paperwork once he was finished, he shrugged to himself and glanced up at the clock on the wall. His jaw dropped when he saw that it was just about noon already.

“geez... how long does it frickin’ take ta fill out a bunch o’ stupid papers...” he grunted in mild annoyance.

The bubbly blonde from before poked her head into the office right before Red decided he could try to snag a few Z’s. She spotted the stack of completed forms and stepped fully into the office, giving the skeleton a bright smile. “Oh good! You’re finished! Right in time for lunch too! I’ll bring you down to the breakroom, where you can eat your lunch and then at one you’ll be meeting up with… Hold on one quick second, I just need to check something… Ah yes! Here we are!” She sang as she flipped through one of the files on her desk. “___ will be the one showing you around today, and I believe for the rest of the week as well,” the HR lady said, her eyes tightening the slightest bit as she said your name.

Red nodded, noticing the way she reacted when she told him your name, but mentally filing it away for later. He stood up to follow the woman out of the room, trying to ignore the nervous feeling in his SOUL at the thought of actually _meeting_ his new coworkers. He was too used to working with only his brother or by himself.

When the two of them made it to the breakroom, the blonde woman looked around the room, as though searching for someone, but quickly gave a small shrug when she apparently came up empty. “Oh well, it seems ___ has already left for lunch, Mr. Aster, but she knows to pick you up from here when she gets back. I need to go file your paperwork, but I’ll come find you if anything comes up. Enjoy your first day!” she called cheerily, leaving Red alone in the breakroom as she made her way back upstairs to her office.

Red shoved his hands into the pockets of his black hoodie, taking a step backwards so he was leaning against the wall, and warily looked around the room he was left in. No one in the breakroom already seemed to be paying much attention to him, so he continued to scout out the room, slipping into old habits from when it was just him and his brother. There were a few vending machines and a fridge along the wall he was propped up against, and across the room, there were several microwaves above a counter. The skeleton was drawn out of his ‘observation mode’ by the sound of a female’s voice shouting in the hallway leading to the cafeteria.

~ ~ ~

You quickly checked your phone as soon as you finished up the current production batch you had been working on after break and you smiled when you saw that it was 11:59AM. Stripping off your work gloves and protective sleeves, you locked down the machine, because you didn’t trust anyone to not fuck it up while you were gone, and met up with Blake, Mark, and D to head outside for lunch.

As you were passing the breakroom where a lot of people took their lunch, you broke off from the group and called out to them over your shoulder, “I’ll catch up to you guys! I wanna go check if the new guy is waiting for me yet!”

The three men waved to show that they had heard you, and D yelled something back to you that you chose to ignore as you stepped into the cafeteria. Looking around, you quickly spotted the skeleton monster casually leaning against the wall, apparently trying to disappear into the fur lined hood of his jacket. You paused for a second to observe him before you just walked right up to him.

He was wearing a blood red tee shirt underneath the hoodie, dark blue/ black jeans with rips in the knees and around his neck was a dark red, studded leather collar. _Kinky_ , you thought as you smirked to yourself, strongly reminded of your goth phase back in high school. Finally walking up to the edgy looking skeleton, especially with his sharpened teeth and gold incisor, you smiled and introduced yourself.

“Hi there! I’m ___! Are you the new hire I’m supposed to be training today?” You tried to maintain your friendly demeanor, while your mind went straight to the gutter. _Holy shit! Those teeth are just taunting me with a good time!_

Red looked at you with a brow bone raised, “uh, yea, i guess… ‘m red,” he grunted, appearing to size you up as you approached, his red eyelights giving you a once over.

You raised your own brow in response. “Well, Red,” you said as your smile grew just a little bit wider. “Do you think you’ve got the _guts_ to join me for lunch so I can introduce you to some of the guys? Or do you think that’d be too much for you to _stomach?_ ” You sent a wink towards the skeleton, but mentally started face-palming. _Stupid ___, you just met the guy! Don’t_ pun _ish him already!_

There were a tense few seconds of silence while Red just stared at you, before he threw back his head and let out a deep full bodied laugh, his golden tooth glinting in the light. “hahaha! heh, _tibia_ -nest, girly, ‘m thinkin’ me and ya ‘re gonna get along jes’ fine. no _bones_ about it,” he said, wiping a fake tear from his eye socket. “i’ll follow ya, girly. there ain’t no- _body_ else i know ‘ere.”

“Good one,” you let out a snort of amusement. “Come on then,” you added as you led the skeleton towards the picnic tables set up outside. “Oh man… I can’t wait...” you chuckled darkly, glancing back at Red and rubbing your palms together.

“can’t wait fer wha’?”

“For the two of us to start tickling everyone’s _funny bones_!” you cackled. 

“heh, ‘m sure tha’ it’s gonna be pretty _humerus._ ”

The two of you traded puns back and forth as you approached the tables outside, causing the three from before to groan.

“Aw man… another jokester?” Mark grumbled, faking annoyance at you.

Blake and D shared a look before rolling their eyes as you stuck out your tongue. “You’re all just mad that, with our powers combined, we can double all the _pun_ ishments!”

Red let out a chuckle behind you, drawing the attention of the other males. ”sup? name’s red,” he introduced himself.

“So yer the poor soul tha’ got stuck with Laser Lady, eh?” Blake commented to the skeleton, holding his hand out for a handshake.

“laser lady?” Red raised his brow bone as he shook Blake’s hand.

Blake rolled his eyes again as you sang out “Poor unfortunate soooooouuuls!” in the background. “Eh, she runs the laser cutter, and programs it, basically adopted it honestly. One of the bosses called ‘er ‘Laser Lady’ and it just kinda stuck,” he explained with a shrug.

You stuck out your tongue and gave Blake a one-fingered salute, before turning back to Red. “So, Red,” you asked as you sat down with your lunch, “what made you apply for a job here?”

Red gave a shrug. “saw th’ job postin’, ‘nd i like tinkerin’ wit’ mechanical shit…”

“Cool, cool,” you gave him a friendly smile. “Like Mechanical Engineering levels or just general tinkering?”

“eh-heh...” Red chuckled nervously, trying to hide in his hoodie again. “i got a p.h.d. In mech eng…”

“Nerds! The both a yous!” D shouted from the other end of the table.

Blake laughed at the look of confusion on Red’s face, explaining while you were busy flipping off D with both hands. “___ has some degree in videa games er somethin’.”

“sweet.”

“Ayo, ___. Doesn’t Simon have a P.H.D. in something engineering? Maybe you should intro-”

“NOPE!” You cut him off with a glare. “Not now, and not ever if I can help it. Too clingy,” you said as you let out a shudder.

The guys started laughing, and Red sent a concerned look your way as you stood up. He trailed behind you as you walked a little bit away from the tables and pulled out your smokes. A few beads of red sweat appeared on his skull as his eyelights flickered between your face and the pack of cigarettes.

“uh, _-___?”

“Hm? You need to bum a smoke?” You asked after you lit your own nicotine stick and took a drag. You held out the pack towards the skeleton and smiled invitingly. “Go ahead, we smokers take care of each other. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve bummed one from one of the guys.”

After a moment of hesitation, Red practically snatched the box and lighter, and quickly lit a cig of his own. Taking a greedy pull, he handed everything back to you with a blissful look on his skull.

“ah, fuck, tha’s good...” he groaned, as he took another drag.

“Heh, been a while, Red?”

“yea... my bro don’t like me smokin’ around him, and we jes’ moved inta a new place,” the skeleton explained, his eye sockets closed as he enjoyed the buzz of the nicotine.

“You, uh, you won’t get in trouble for smoking with me, right?” you asked, not wanting to cause problems for your new pun-pal.

“nah, my bro jes’ don’t want me wastin’ money on buyin’ ‘em,” Red chuckled. “b’tween th’ mutt ‘nd th’ honeybun, he’s ‘round enuff of it anyways.”

You raised a brow at the skeleton, but didn’t pry any further, choosing instead to finish up your cigarette silently while listening to your music with only one earbud for now.

Once lunch was over, you led the way back inside and Red followed you all the way back to your machines. Before you started them back up, you turned to your ~~minion~~ _trainee_. “So Red, are you more of an observational learner or are you more of a hands-on person?”

“heh. well i always like a bit o’ hands-on experience, but i’m pretty good wit’ jes’ watchin’, at least fer now.”

“Alright then,” you said, before letting out a snort of laughter. “Pretty sure you couldn’t _hand_ le me anyways,” you flashed him a wink before you turned away, popped in both of your earbuds and got to work.

True to his word, Red seemed to pick up everything you were doing fairly quickly and soon enough, he stopped asking you questions and simply settled in to just watch you work.

Without the constant interruptions of his questions to stop you, you fell back into your habit of singing along to your music and dancing along to the beat. As the next song started, you paused in your work to drum along with the intro. Out of the corner of your eye, you noticed Red sit up a little straighter, as though he recognized the beat. With a sudden burst of confidence, you turned to face him as you sang along to the first line.

 _“Can you feel that?”_ you sang, continuing to drum along. _“Ah, shit.”_

Red looked at you in surprise as you waited for the first verse to start, not even attempting to sing the backup parts. As the verse started, Red’s expression changed from surprised to impressed with a hint of smugness.

_“Drowning deep in my sea of loathing, broken your servant, I kneel...”_

_“will you give in to me?”_ Red jumped in, singing the backup vocal part, smirking when you jumped at the sound of his voice.

Raising an eyebrow at him, you continued the song with a smirk of your own. _“It seems what’s left of my human side is slowly changing in me...”_

Red took a step towards you as he sang perfectly in time with the next line, without being able to hear the music. _“will you give in to me?”_

_“Looking at my own reflection, when suddenly it changes, vi-o-lent-ly it changes!”_

_“oh no!”_

_“There is no turning back now, you’ve woken up the demon in meeee!”_

Red joined in as you started the chorus, causing you to falter when he launched into the next verse flawlessly. You pulled out one of your earbuds to hear him better, and gave the singing skeleton an incredulous look.

Quickly pausing the music, you held up your hand to stop the singing. “You… sound _exactly_ like the singer…”

“i would hope so, girly,” Red said with a shit-eating grin. “can’t say i’ve ever heard a female cover one o’ my songs though.”

You let out a fangirl squeal, causing Red to jump back and pull his hood over his skull to try to muffle the high pitched sound, and Blake to roll his eyes as he was walking passed the two of you.

“th’ hell was tha’ about, laser lady?” Red grumbled, tentatively peering out of his hood when you finally stopped dancing around and squealing.

“ _You’re_ in Forgotten Underground!” you exclaimed. “They’re, _You’re_ part of my _favorite_ group!” You gave yourself a mental slap. _Oh my gods, ___. You are going to scare him away at this rate with all the fangirling…_

“heh, yea,” Red shrugged, a faint crimson glow on his face. “i sing once in a while, but mostly cover guitar or drums when one o’ th’ others ‘re singin’.”

“That’s so cool…” you whispered, still a bit star-struck.

“we’re, uh, gonna be playin’ at Elsewhere on friday night… if ya, uh, wanted ta swing by ‘r somethin’,” Red offered, the crimson glow getting brighter. “we all jes’ moved out this way ‘nd we had a hookup there. i can talk ta the others t’night at practice.”

“Oh, awesome! I know exactly where that is! Oh! Wait...” you interrupted yourself and shoved your phone towards Red after pulling up the new contact screen. “Gimme your number and I’ll text you so you have my info. Maybe we can meet up for a drink or something before you go on,” you said quickly, looking away as a faint blush dusted your face.

“s-sure thin’, girly,” Red stuttered, still glowing red. He typed in his number, saved it and held out the phone.

Taking back your phone, you sent him a quick text with your name, and shoved the device back into your pocket, not bothering to even turn your music back on. “Soooo… you wanna give any of this a try?” You asked gesturing to the machine you were currently watching over. “Or did you want to see if maybe you have the, heh heh, _magic touch_ to get the punch to cooperate?”

“i’ll show ya a ‘magic touch’, girly,” Red leered at you, causing you to burst out laughing.

“I eagerly await your demonstration,” you purred, laughing again as the skeleton instantly turned completely as red as his namesake.

“i- uh- jes’- wha?” The blushing Red sputtered.

“I kid, I kid,” you waved your hand placatingly, as you led the way to the ornery punch machine, which was _still_ stubbornly refusing to boot up. Letting out a frustrated groan, you grabbed the main power switch, yanked it into the ‘off’ position, and flipped off the machine with both hands. “Welp, hopefully third time’s the charm,” you sighed. “You fucking stupid piece of shit...” you added under your breath glaring at the machine controller.

“wha’s th’ problem wit’ it?” Red asked inquisitive, stepping up behind you to look over your shoulder.

“Its old, probably’s never been properly maintained, and it’s hyper-sensitive when the other presses are running...” your grumbled pointing to the multi-ton press across the aisle. “If it doesn’t start up _this_ time, I’m just gonna kick it, and try again tomorrow.”

“want me ta take a look at it?” Red offered as he studied the machine in front of you.

“If it still doesn’t wanna work, then sure, be my guest. You wouldn’t be the first one to poke around in this thing’s _guts_ ,” you told him with a shrug as you turned the machine on once again. Miraculously, it actually booted up properly and you couldn’t help but notice the slight disappointment radiating from the skeleton behind you. “Hey, don’t worry man, it _clearly_ only started up under threat of dissection,” you sent Red a lopsided smile. “Once I’m done running these parts, or it decides to crap out again, you can play mad scientist with it.”

“lucky fer ya, girly, i’ve got experience playin’ wit’ old hunks o’ junk like this,” Red grinned as he stepped back once again to watch you work.

The rest of the afternoon passed quickly without anything too exciting happening. Red watched you as you knocked out your work orders, occasionally helping out while you were pulling parts, all the while the two of you traded puns back and forth. You let the skeleton bum another smoke from you when you met up with Blake and the others during the afternoon break, smiling to yourself when you noticed Red start to relax a little bit around the other guys.

After you all went back inside for the last hour or so of the day, you and Red sang a few more of Forgotten Underground’s songs, punned some more at each other, and finished up all of the work you had planned for the day. Surprisingly, you even managed to get ahead on some of the plastic parts, since the punch continued to cooperate, and you weren’t one to squander such an opportunity when it presented itself.

Finally, 4:45PM rolled around and it was time for you to start shutting things down and cleaning up for the day.

As you turned off your machines, you walked Red through what you normally did for the last fifteen minutes of your shift. “After everything's off for the night, I’ll usually go check if anyone left any new work orders for me, and make a list of what material, if any, I’ll need Mark or Blake to prep for me. Otherwise, it’s stare down the clock and shoot off an email to Drew, my supervisor, with my completed production and programming for the day.”

“don’t seem too bad ta me,” Red shrugged, moving to lean up against the wall next to your workbench as you typed up your daily report. “wha’s th’ plan fer ta- _marrow_ , laser lady?” he asked after a minute, shooting you a wink.

“Well,” you snorted, “there’s really no _patella_ -n if it’s gonna be any more exciting than today. We’ll see if anyone decides to surprise me with last minute ‘hot rush’ jobs.” You rolled your eyes as you clicked send on the email you finished typing and once it was sent, you closed your laptop and shoved it into your bag. “And with that,” you announced, turning to face the skeleton, “I’m done for the day! You’re in tomorrow at eight?”

“yep.”

“Cool. When you get here, just meet me here,” you gestured to your workbench. “I _usually_ get here a little bit before eight myself, so I’ll just hang out until you show up.”

“sounds like a plan ta me.”

“Awesome. So, I’ll see ya tomorrow. Text me whenever, about work or not. Have fun with your band practice, and get home safe!” You babbled as the two of you walked outside after you had clocked out. “Bye, Red!” you called over your shoulder as you climbed into your car. “See ya!”

Red waved and watched as you drove off, waiting until you had turned the corner before he looked around to make sure no one was watching before he stepped through the void with one of his shortcuts. If his grin was a little bigger and a bit more sincere than normal, well, no one was gonna question him about it anyway.


	2. When Treble Finds You, Let The Rhythm Carry Your Blues Away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Forgotten Underground has band practice and they talk about their gig, Rus has a date, and Red warns you about some new coworkers. Just a normal Monday night.... right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Songs in this Chapter:  
> \------------------------------------  
> Ten Thousand Fists by Disturbed  
> I do have a Spotify playlist of everything I plan on using for this fic.... I could be convinced to post a link to it if enough people are interested...  
> >_>  
> <_<  
> >_>  
> ^_^

_ “People can no longer cover their eyes, if this disturbs you then walk away. You will remember the night you were struck by the sight of, ten thousand fists in the air, aa-aa-air! Ten thousand fists in the air, aa-aa-air! Ten thousand fists in the air!” _

Edge stepped away from the mic and the rest of the band set down their instruments as they took a break from their rehearsing. The five skeletons broke off into two groups; Edge and Paps staying in the garage-turned-practice-room to discuss what they each were planning on making for dinner that night, while the other three stepped outside for some fresh air.

“cough it up, honeybun. yanno edge don’t lemme buy ‘em fer myself,” Red held his hand out to the much taller skeleton wearing an orange hoodie, with the hood pulled up over his skull, tan cargo shorts, and bright orange hi-top Converse.

‘Honeybun’, or Rus (as was  _ actually _ his name) rolled his amber eyelights as he dug out his pack of cigarettes from one of the many pockets on his shorts, pulled two smokes out and handed one to the short edgy skeleton.

“y’seem ta be in a good mood t’night, red,” the third skeleton spoke up, lighting up a dog treat and inhaling the fragrant purple smoke. He was just as tall as Rus, though with the way both of them were always slouching, you could never tell just how tall they were. He was decked out in a pair of ripped black skinny jeans, a black tank top with the sides ripped open showing off his ribs, and around his neck was a royal purple collar studded with gold spikes. 

“eh, shaddup mutt,” Red grumbled as he stole Rus’s lighter and lit his cigarette. “started th’ new job t’day. i think it’ll be a good time.”

“yeah? i’m supposed ta be startin’ there on wednesday, up in ‘it’,” Mutt informed the others.

“i think, uh, blue is starting then too… but he’ll be up in customer service...” Rus chimed in, shuddering at the thought of ‘customer service’. “my bro is so cool… i couldn’t deal with that many people everyday…”

“we know, honeybun,” Red grinned. “s’why ya stay at home, locked in yer room on yer computer all day.” He sent the orange clad skeleton a wink.

“ugh, red!” Rus grumbled, while Mutt was trying and failing to hide his laughter in the background. "i write  _ books _ . like actual novels,  _ not _ whatever smutty fanfics you find in your filthy corner of the internet.” Rus pulled his hood further over his head, trying to hide his face.

“honeybun… ya  _ do  _ write some pretty  _ inspired _ romance books...” Mutt drawled, throwing an arm around the blushing skeleton. “and speakin’ of, i’ve got a  _ bone _ ta pick with you about that. you haven’t  _ cum _ ta  _ beg _ me for any ‘inspiration’ lately...” Mutt lowered his voice an octave and purred directly into Rus’s acoustic meatus.

Rus pulled on the strings of his hood, disappearing completely inside as he shoved Mutt off of him, shooting a glare at the cackling Red. “wh-why did this t-turn into pick on rus? y-you know i’m d-dating keri...” Rus stuttered out, his embarrassment getting the better of him, causing him to falter in his speech.

“aw, honeybun, don’ let th’ mongrel get ta ya. ya know we only tease ‘cause we care,” Red comforted Rus, after he had gotten his laughter under control.

Rus just glared at the two of them from inside his hood, and grumbled, “s-see if i w-write anymore songs for either of you,” flinching slightly as he still tripped over his words.

“rus,  _ honey _ , why ya gotta do me like that?” Mutt asked, dramatically grabbing on to Red as the three of them made their way back into the garage. “ya can’t just say things like that! The two of us boneheads don’t have the same  _ magic _ way with words that you do!”

“get offa me, ya stupid mutt,” Red grunted, shoving the tall skeleton off of him as they all started grabbing their instruments to continue rehearsing.

Edge and Paps paused in their conversation, already waiting by the drum set and keyboard respectively, when the others walked in.

“So what’s up next?” Edge asked them, casually spinning the drum stick in his right hand through his long phalanges.

“Rus, have you decided if you want to do one of your songs on Friday?” Paps asked the shy skeleton as Rus picked up his bass guitar. 

“eh…” Rus shrugged, shifting the instrument to settle more comfortably against his body. “i sh-should, but…”

“you wanna wait ta see how ya feel day of?” Red offered, being surprisingly thoughtful.

“yeah... if i do end up s-singing, i’ll probably go with, uh, ‘tomorrow’ or ‘breaking the habit’. s-so i guess we should run through those tonight.”

“let’s run through a few more songs ‘nd we can end a bit early ta  _ bang _ out our setlist for the gig,” Mutt drawled, sending a wink towards Edge.

“Keep me out of your nonsense, you insatiable mongrel,” the drummer growled. “Are we going to start or not?”

“I agree with Edge!” Paps chimed in, his long fingers dancing through some [classical music excerpt](https://youtu.be/quxTnEEETbo) on his keyboard while he was waiting.

Mutt and Red looked at each other briefly before Mutt reached for his guitar. “you're up, cherry pie,” he said with another wink, “what’re we doin’?”

“down with the sickness,” Red grinned, thinking of his impromptu duet with you earlier in the day.

Everyone nodded as Edge clicked his sticks together before launching into the intro of the song. The five of them ran through several more songs with Mutt, Edge and Rus each running a few that they sang before they stopped for the night to discuss the show coming up that Friday.

“speakin’ o’ th’ gig,” Red said after they came up with a mostly solidified setlist. “i invited someone from work ta come.”

“Oh? You made a new friend, Red?” Paps smiled, always the beacon of cheerfulness.

“uh, yea, guess you could call her tha’…”

“how’d ya manage that?” Mutt raised a brow bone at the shortest skeleton in the room.

“laser lady’s th’ one trainin’ me,” Red answered with a shrug.

“Laser Lady?” Edge scoffed from where he was covering his drum set for the night. “With a name like  _ that _ , it’s no wonder you get along with her.”

“eh, bro, tha’s jes’ her nickname. her name’s actually ___.”

“when do i get ta meet her?” Mutt asked with an unlit dog treat already shoved between his teeth as he packed up his guitar and bass.

“down boy, heel,” Red chuckled. “i’ll introduce ya ta her durin’ lunch on yer first day.”

“aww, c’mon… throw me a bone here,” Mutt whined pathetically. “at least tell me how she looks. is she hot?”

“don’t go barking up the wrong tree there, buddy,” Rus commented with a smirk, looking up from his phone where he was texting his girlfriend.

Paps and Edge shared a look over their shared dislike of the puns as they debated throwing an actual bone attack or three at the punning skele-trio.

They were saved from having to decide as Rus spoke up after reading his newest string of texts. “alright guys, i’m out. meeting up with keri for date night.”

“later, honeybun,” Red said while Mutt rolled his eyelights as Rus blipped out of existence, with his bass over his shoulder. “dunno wha’ he sees in tha’ one,” Red sighed, rubbing a hand over his face.

“ ‘date night’?” Mutt questioned, storing his instruments on the shelves they had built for them. “ain’t the honeybun startin’ his heat soon?”

“One last canoodling beforehand?” Paps suggested, standing by the door that led to the rest of the main house, where he and Mutt lived with their brothers, along with Rus and Blue. “Either way, I’m going to start on dinner for the house, since Black is working tonight. Good practice tonight, everyone!”

Edge rolled his eyelights as he walked up next to Red. “If you two are quite finished discussing Rus’s sex life, I am ready to leave,” he said, directing a sharp look towards his brother.

“alrigh’, alrigh’,” Red grumbled giving Mutt a fist bump. “‘re the drums stayin’ ‘r goin’”

“They can stay, since we practice  _ here _ . I have my other set back home, if I want to use them.”

“righ’ well, here we go then,” Red huffed out the warning, giving his brother a split second to brace himself, before dragging him along through a shortcut back to their house.

Edge wobbled on his feet, disoriented from his trip through the void, but was able to keep his footing. “DAMMIT, RED!” He yelled, losing control over his volume for a moment. “You know I  _ hate _ it when you do that!”

“sorry, bro.”

“You are not,” Edge stated matter-of-factly, before moving to make dinner for the two of them. Pulling out the ingredients for a simple chicken stir fry, Edge set them on the counter and grabbed a sauté pan from underneath. “How was your first day at the new job?” the tall skeleton asked as he began to cook. The two of them had left for band practice as soon as Red had arrived home, so they hadn’t had time to catch up with each other.

“it was fine. ___ is pretty cool,” Red shrugged, sitting down at the kitchen table with a bottle of mustard. “she’s got a nice voice too.”

“Nice voice?” Edge narrowed his eye sockets. “Sounds less like working, and more like shirking responsibilities, brother.”

“nah, bro, ts’all good. we were workin’ at th’ same time,” Red said taking a large gulp of the tangy yellow condiment. “neva heard a female cover any o’ our songs tha’ good b’fore.”

“Oh?” Edge looked genuinely intrigued as he dished up the now finished stir fry, placing one plate in front of Red and the other in front of himself. “Which of your songs did you hear her singing?”

“ ‘down with the sickness’ and ‘the game’. but wha’ really caught me off guard was her versions o’ ‘this moment’ and ‘killer in the mirror’.”

“Interesting…” the tall skeleton looked thoughtful, as though he was plotting something, which more often than not meant trouble for Red. “You mentioned you invited her to the show on Friday, did you not?”

“course i did,” Red grunted, digging into his dinner. “when my skull stopped ringin’ from th’ squealin’…”

“Ah, so she’s a fan then?”

“yep. she coulda nailed any o’ th’ songs i picked fer her, even th’ newer shit.”

“I see…”

The brothers ate their meal in peace, with minimal punning coming from Red, and when they were finished, Edge took care of the dishes while Red took a shortcut to his room, landing directly on his bed.

Shifting just enough to remove his jacket and throw it over his desk chair, he pulled out his phone and reclined on his bed. He scrolled through reddit for a bit, trolling some posts and laughing at others, when he was reminded about Mutt starting  _ his _ new job at your company, by a meme of a dog in glasses, surrounded by lab equipment saying ‘I have no idea what I’m doing.’ Letting out a tired sigh, Red switched over to his messaging app and pulled up your message thread. After he actually saved your number, chuckling as he entered “Lazer Lady” for your contact name, he debated whether he should warn you about the additional skeletons that would soon become your coworkers.

“ah, fuck it…” he groaned aloud as his phalanges tapped against the screen of his phone. He clicked send before he could second guess himself and quickly resumed browsing the internet.

~ ~ ~

After you had gotten home from work, taken a long relaxing shower and made yourself something to eat, you sat down at your computer and debated whether you should play video games or continue typing up the story you were currently working on.

“I should  _ at least _ finish typing the next chapter,” you reasoned out loud, reaching for the unassuming notebook that you were using for this particular story. Opening the book to the last thing you had typed, you squinted at the scribbles written in brightly colored gel pens and let out a groan. “Why did I use  _ that _ color again? I can hardly read it!” Letting out a huff of annoyance, you tilted the notebook until the light hit it  _ just _ right and you could make out what you had written a little bit easier. Holding the book up in one hand, you started typing with the other, releasing a relieved sigh when you flipped the page to reveal the next color pen was a whole lot easier on the eyes.

“Oh, thank gods…” you sighed, setting the book on your desk so you could use both hands to properly type. A few moments later, your phone buzzed, alerting you to a new text. You let out a whine, your hands freezing as your gaze flickered between your phone and your computer. Willing yourself to not get distracted, you rolled your eyes and flipped ahead in your notebook to see how much was left of the chapter you were working on.

“Three more pages, only  _ three more pages _ ,” you gritted your teeth and ignored your phone for the moment. Your fingers flew over the keyboard and you transcribed the hastily scrawled words from your notebook to the document you were typing in. Twenty minutes later, you shoved your bookmark in the notebook, saved your work and pushed your chair away from your desk. Grabbing your phone, you walked through the kitchen, out onto the porch, and lit up a, in your opinion, well deserved cigarette.

Unlocking your phone and opening your texts, your were mildly surprised to see two new messages from ‘Red Alert’, which you had set Red’s contact name to.

> Red Alert: heya girly 
> 
> Red Alert: jes wanna let u kno thers gonna b 2 mor skeles @ work on wed

You smiled to yourself as you took a drag of your smoke and typed out your response. You only  _ slightly _ cringed at the textspeak and generally lazy message from the edgy skeleton.

> You: Cool deal. They gonna be  _ skull _ -king around in production with us?

Almost immediately, your phone buzzed again as Red answered you. You raised a brow at the instant response, but shrugged it off, figuring he must be done with band practice by now.

> Red Alert: nah 1 in it nd 1 in cust service
> 
> You: Ah, the one in IT must be my replacement then
> 
> Red Alert: replacement?
> 
> You: Yeah, I only moved down to production at the beginning of the year. I was IT before. Still am for my family though >_<
> 
> Red Alert: heh no escape
> 
> You: How’d practice go?
> 
> Red Alert: good
> 
> Red Alert: picked a setlist 4 fri nite
> 
> You: Oh? Can I get a hint? Pretty pleeeease?
> 
> Red Alert: nope ;)
> 
> You: Awwwwwwwww, c’mon! Throw me a  _ bone _ ....
> 
> Red Alert: yanno mutt said th same thin when i told em bout u
> 
> You: AND?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
> 
> You: What did you tell them?
> 
> Red Alert: tha they can wait til wed or fri
> 
> You: Oh, and you’re soooooo sure I’m gonna come to your show?
> 
> Red Alert: yep feel it in my  _ bones _
> 
> You: booooooooo!
> 
> Red Alert: ;)

You let out a snort as you discarded the butt of your finished cigarette. Stifling a yawn, you headed back into the house, locking the door behind you, and walking back to your room after grabbing a water bottle from the fridge.

> You: Hey, I’m pretty beat, gonna turn in for the night.
> 
> Red Alert: so wud u say u r  _ bone _ tired.
> 
> You: Ha.
> 
> You: -_-
> 
> You: yes. I sleep now. Goodnight.
> 
> Red Alert: nite ___

After double checking that your alarms were set on your phone and clock, and making sure your phone was plugged in, you climbed into bed and drifted off to sleep with a smile on your lips.

~ ~ ~

Red rubbed a hand over his face after you had said goodnight, thinking about how he was actually looking forward to work the next morning. Well, more specifically, he was looking forward to seeing  _ you _ at work the next morning. An unsolicited flutter of  _ something _ went through his soul, causing his phone to slip out of his grasp and thwack him right in the face.

“ow! fuck! wha’ th’ hell?” he swore loudly, as his phone bounced off his skull and landed on the bed next to him.

“Red?” Edge called, hearing the swearing from the room next to Red’s. “Is everything okay in there?” he asked, his voice growing louder as he walked towards the door of Red’s room.

“yeah, bro!” Red called back, red sweat drops appearing on his skull as his brother approached and stuck in head through the open door. “jes tried ta catch m’phone wit’ m’face…”

“Maybe you should ask Mutt for help with that?” Edge suggested with a smirk, now leaning casually against the doorframe. “Or were you  _ not _ trying to play fetch?”

“ouch, bro. why d’ya only make jokes at my expense?” he grinned as he put a hand over his chest and slid off his bed dramatically.

“I’m sure you’ll get over it,” Edge huffed with a roll of his eyelights. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to bed.”

“night, bro.”

“Goodnight, brother. I would suggest you head to sleep soon as well, this way you won’t be any more useless than usual on Friday,” the taller skeleton quipped before retreating to his bedroom.

“fuck you too, edge.” Red flipped him off as he left. “asshole,” he grumbled as he picked himself up off the floor. 

Choosing to ignore his brother’s advice for the time being, Red grabbed his phone and flopped back on to his bed after swapping his jeans for some track shorts. He continued to fool around on his phone for a while, and at some point during his random internet surfing, no, he was  _ not _ looking at porn, thank you very much, his phone buzzed as he got a text from Mutt.

> HornDog: gotta situation w/ rus…
> 
> Red: sup w/ th honeybun?
> 
> HornDog: dunno
> 
> HornDog: just appeared in my room wen he shoulda ben @ ‘date night’
> 
> HornDog: saw me & burst into tears
> 
> HornDog: smelled really gud tho
> 
> Red: ah fuck
> 
> Red: his heat musta started early
> 
> HornDog: shit
> 
> HornDog: ur rite
> 
> HornDog: hes in sub heat 2
> 
> Red: shit
> 
> Red: you gonna deal w/ it?
> 
> HornDog: guess i got no choice…
> 
> HornDog: dont see you gettin off ur coccyx ta help
> 
> Red: maybe next time
> 
> Red: i got work in th’ morn
> 
> HornDog: bite me
> 
> Red: nah go ask th honeybun im sure hes willin
> 
> HornDog: ttyl. gonna go fuck the honeybun all better
> 
> Red: gl hf
> 
> Red: l8r

Red let out a sigh. Hopefully Rus would just accept Mutt’s help again and this whole thing would blow over before their show on Friday. He thought Rus’s  _ girlfriend _ would have helped him with whatever, but what does he know. His sub-heats really weren’t that bad in the grand scheme of things; he just really liked to clean during them, and snuggle a lot. Red couldn’t care less about sexual relief during his sub heats but it was always a nice bonus, even if he did have to suck up to one of the guys to help him out.

He rolled his eyelights, annoyed how his bandmates’ problems were somehow becoming  _ his _ problems and decided that he was done with everything and that sleep sounded perfect right about now. Throwing his phone on the charger after he made sure his alarm was set, not that Edge would have let him sleep past it, Red shut his bedroom door and turned off the light with magic before he flopped face down on his bed and started snoring almost instantly.


	3. Paws-itively Working Yourself To The Bone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You find out some behind the scenes info about Forgotten Underground, finally meet Blue and Mutt, and something is going on between Mutt and Red...

You met Red at your workbench Tuesday, and he shadowed you all morning. You introduced him to your supervisor, Drew, an older gentleman, and the three of you ended up having a conversation about the different concerts you had seen, and Red had admitted that he hadn’t gotten the chance to really go see any other groups perform live, outside of a few ‘battle of the bands’ that Forgotten Underground had competed in.

Eventually you had to drag Red away from Drew, before they started to debate the pros and cons of various guitars, and the two of you headed back to the laser lair.

“So. You have two options for what you get to do today,” you informed the skeleton as you leaned against the wall next to your bench. “One, you continue to ‘watch me’ as I stare at the laser while it cuts twelve billion circles, or two, you can go mess around with the punch and I’ll come check in with you every once in a while.”

“well… i do like doin’ nothin’,” Red sent you a wink when you rolled your eyes and groaned at him. “but i’ll poke around in th’ punch fer a bit. if i can’t make any progress, then i’ll jes’ sleep on it ‘nd see what i come up wit’.”

You let out a snort. “Any dreams that you have with _that_ beast in it are better off classified as _nightmares_.”

“pfft, if tha’ were th’ worst i was dreamin’ about, then i’d be sleepin’ like a babybones every night,” Red chuckled as the two of you walked over to the punch machine.

As you unlocked and opened the main controller cabinet, you asked, “Do you get nightmares often then?”

“i uh...” the skeleton’s eye sockets went dark. “i d o n ‘ t w a n t t o t a l k a b o u t i t,” he said in a low, dangerous voice.

Immediately, you held your hands up in surrender. “Hey, it’s cool,” you said quickly, keeping your voice even and calm, until Red’s eyelights came back. “We all have our secrets, and I’m really not one to pry. _But_ , I’m here if you ever want to talk. I ain’t gonna judge anyone.”

A grateful look flashed across Red’s face before he flipped up his hood to hide it from view. “uh, thanks, girly,” he said after a bit. “it’s a… sensitive subject...”

“No worries, Bones,” you said with a smile and a shrug. “We all have our pasts. And out presents. The future’s a little unclear, but that’s why I work _here_ and not in a circus. I’m no fortune teller.”

When Red burst out laughing, letting his hood slide back down, you smiled, relieved that you were able to get him to relax again. It would suck to have your pun-pal stuck in a funk, for both of your sakes. Being an empath really sucked sometimes, since you automatically started feeling what others were feeling, especially when it came to negative emotions. Shaking your head to clear your thoughts, you turned once more to the skeleton. “Sooooo, will you tell me who’s starting here tomorrow? Are they in Forgotten Underground too?”

“heh, slow down there, girly,” Red huffed out good-naturedly. “one of ‘em is.”

“Who?!” you practically squealed.

“its…”

“Yeah?”

“gonna be a surprise fer to- _marrow_.”

“Boo!” you pouted at him. “Go sit on a cactus. Spin a few times for good measure, yeah?” You said with a glare, but lacking any real heat behind your words.

“wow. tha’s quite… creative, girly,” Red said with a laugh, torn between feeling disturbed and impressed.

“Listen. I used to work around small children and I had to, uh, ‘censor’ myself a bit…” You crossed your arms over your chest as you tried to defend yourself.

“uh-huh, right…” Red raised his brow bone at you, clearly not buying a word of it. “can i play wit’ th’ punch now?” he asked hopefully.

“After lunch,” you grinned, showing him the time on your phone.

“sweet.”

You and Red headed outside where you met up with the guys from Sheet Metal. The four of you chatted about random topics, from current events to funny videos that popped up on your feeds. Soon enough the hour was up, and you all headed back to work.

After rolling your toolbox over to the punch, and letting Red know who to ask if he needed any other tools that you didn’t have, you left the skeleton alone to mess around with the punch. You headed back over to the laser and after verifying how many raw sheets were left on the pallet, you set it to run your program, and left it to burn through however many discs you got until you ran out of material. Deciding to get ahead on some of the programming, you sat down at your workbench with your laptop, pulled up your 3D modelling program and dove straight in.

After about an hour, you took a break from staring at the computer screen and walked over to check on Red. He shot you a quick thumbs up from where he was elbows deep in the machine and you continued on your way to grab one of the guys from Welding to load more material into the laser for you. Blake _could_ do it for you, but you and Jake, the head of Welding, had a system that worked really well, and hey, why fix what ain’t broke?

The rest of the day passed quickly, with Red eventually calling it quits on the punch for the time being, when he realized no one had the particular tool he needed. With a shrug, he told you he’d just bring it with him from his workshop at home, and you both left it at that. When five o’clock rolled around, the two of you parted ways, Red heading off to band practice and you just heading home for the evening. And what an unremarkable evening it was, for you at least. You didn’t hear anything from Red that night, and you wouldn’t until you got to work the next morning.

~ ~ ~

“Morning, Red,” you greeted as he walked up to your workbench.

“mornin’ ___,” he grunted, looking ready to fall over at a moment’s notice.

“Yikes, rough night?” you asked, brows arching in concern.

“somethin’ like tha’,” he yawned and blinked his eye sockets a few times trying to clear his head. “s’there some place ta get coffee ‘r somethin’?”

“Yep! There’s energy drinks in the breakroom or there is a coffee machine upstairs. Which did you want?”

“coffee.”

“Follow me!” you said as you lead the way up the stairs, past your old office, to a small kitchenette, where the fancy coffee maker was. “I should warn you, the coffee they use is a bit on the strong side.”

“perfect,” Red said as he stared critically at the machine before grabbing two empty cups and picking what he wanted. When the first cup was done brewing, he immediately gulped it down as he set up the second cup to brew.

“Well… that just happened…” you said dumbly as you watched the skeleton down the first cup of scalding hot coffee, _black._ “I was gonna offer you cream or sugar but…” you trailed off, raising your brow in a silent demand for an explanation.

“ ‘m a skeleton. don’t feel hot ‘r cold like humans do,” Red shrugged. “we can feel temperature, jes’ don’t botha us like it does you.”

“Good to know,” you responded, making a mental note to remember that little tidbit. “Oh, while we’re up here, did the other skellies start yet? Or are they starting later like you did?”

“heh. i think they’re both gettin’ here later. gonna hafta wait, girly.”

You sent Red a pout as the two of you headed back down to the production floor, Red only sipping at his second cup of caffeinated goodness. Setting the laser to resume cutting the thousands of discs that were needed, you followed Red back to the punch machine to watch him work for a bit, since you didn’t _really_ need to babysit the laser.

Keeping an eye on the time, you dragged the skeleton away from where he was involved in his project when 10:00AM hit. “Break time, Red. C’mon.”

“nice,” Red grinned at you as he followed you outside. Taking the cigarette you offered, he lit it up, took a drag and let out a sigh.

“You need to talk about anything?” You checked on the skeleton, looking over him with a critical eye.

“eh…”

“Did something happen at practice last night?” you prompted. You weren’t trying to pry or anything, honestly! You were just concerned about your friend’s well being!

“no practice last night,” Red sighed again, releasing a cloud of smoke. “honeybun’s still in th’ middle o’ his heat and mutt was helpin’ him wit’ it, wit’ edge takin’ over fer t’day. wit’ two o’ five out o’ commission, edge and paps decided ta do some cookin’ wit’ black ‘nd blue. i got dragged along fer th’ evenin’ ‘nd me ‘nd classic got roped inta helpin’ wit’ all th’ clean up…”

“Wow, okay, uh… Everyone’s okay though?” you asked, releasing your own cloud of smoke as you tried to sort through everything Red had dumped on you. “I mean four people trying to cook in one kitchen just sounds like a _recipe_ for disaster anywhere other than a restaurant.”

“heh, yea, nothin’ was on fire, this time. they’ve gotten betta about that. nah, after dinner me ‘nd mutt was up late talkin’ about what ta do wit’ rus.”

“I thought you said Mutt and Edge were helping him?” you pointed out while flicking some ash off of your smoke.

“they are, but rus has a girlfriend, or had. not sure which at this point,” Red sighed yet again as he finished off his cigarette. “when ya show up in someone’s room, in tears, in th’ middle of yer ‘date night’ i don’t think there’s much of a relationship left.”

“Oh no! Will Rus be okay?” You asked, sending your friend a concerned look.

“should be,” Red shrugged as the two of you walked back into the building. “th’ rest o’ us never really liked her much. his songs might be a bit more depressin’ fer a while, but who knows?”

“His songs?”

“he writes most o’ our songs. at least th’ lyrics fer ‘em. mutt will usually come up wit’ th’ guitar and bass parts. edge takes care o’ th’ drum lines.”

“Nice! What do you and Paps end up doing then?” you asked excitedly, barely containing yourself as you got ‘behind the scenes’ information on Forgotten Underground.

“eh,” the skeleton flushed red, nervously scratching the back of his skull. “i help mutt out wit’ th’ guitar sometimes, but mostly i’m th’ one who finds us gigs. paps usually does all th’ lighting effects ‘nd sound set ups fer us, but classic migh’ help wit’ th’ sound stuff.”

“That’s so cool! Sounds like you have a real _skeleton_ crew putting everything together.”

“heh, yea.”

When the two of you finally reached your work area, you left Red by the punch machine to continue whatever it was he was in the middle of doing. You really _didn’t_ want to know. After checking in on the laser, making sure it hadn’t managed to crash into itself, you wandered over towards the Assembly area to grab whatever new work orders they had waiting for you. Rolling your eyes as you read over the papers, you grumbled under your breath at the request for even _more_ discs.

Still grumbling as you walked past Red, he raised his head to look at you when he heard your disgruntled tone of voice. Wiping his hands on his jeans as he stood up, he caught up to you and looked over your shoulder at the papers you were glaring at.

“wha’s th’ matter, laser lady?” he asked, knocking his shoulder against yours.

“Ugh, they want _more discs!_ ” you let out a frustrated huff. Gesturing to a pallet in the laser lair that was loaded up with boxes of variously sized discs, you whined, “They asked for all of these _weeks_ ago. I cut them and _they’re still here_. Now, they want more of a size that I already made more than enough of for the orders they were building. Fine! You want three thousand? You’re getting seven, and don’t talk to me for a week.” You growled as you jabbed at the touchscreen on the laser, setting it to run the required discs after its current job.

“aww, cheer up, ___,” Red said, sympathetically patting you on the shoulder. “it’s almost lunch, and you’ll get ta officially meet mutt ‘nd blue.”

“Really?” your mood instantly shifted from slightly murderous to excited as you spun around to face the skeleton. “Please tell me Mutt _isn’t_ the one in customer service, _please_. Somehow, I can’t see that going well…”

Red chuckled as you started babbling happily about meeting the new skeletons. “nah, blue’s th’ people person. th’ mongrel’s like crazy smart wit’ computers. got degrees in comp sci ‘nd networkin’ too.”

“Ah, so he’s the replacement,” you said tapping a finger against your lips thoughtfully. “Eh, better him than me, I guess. I’m way happier down here anyways. I missed the more physical aspects of working with my hands, like this.”

“i can appreciate a girl tha’ don’t mind gettin’ her hands dirty,” Red sent you a wink.

Laughing, you playfully shoved at him before you brushed past him to set the work orders you were still holding on your bench. “So are the others going to meet us down here for lunch?”

“think so, mutt will at least, dunno about blue.”

“Cool.” Glancing at your phone, you sighed when you saw the time. “Well, we’ve still got twenty minutes until lunch. I’m gonna go bother Blake. You gonna keep tinkering?”

“yea. think i’m close ta somethin’. after lunch i wanna try firin’ it up ta see what happens.”

You gave him a shrug. “Have fun with that. Just remember, you break it, you buy it,” you said with a wink as you walked off to Sheet Metal.

“heh, real cute, doll,” Red said to himself, shaking his head with a smile as he dove back into the guts of the punch machine.

Finally, it was lunchtime. You were bouncing on the balls of your feet excitedly as you awaited the new skeletons. Blake, Mark and D collectively rolled their eyes at you as Red just chuckled at your enthusiasm.

“calm down, girly. yer makin’ me tired jes’ watchin’ ya.”

“Oh, shut up, Bones,” you stuck your tongue out at the skeleton.

“ya keep tha’ up ‘nd i might take it as an invitation, doll,” Red leered.

You let out a snort and rolled your eyes. “As if.”

Red was about to retort, when he interrupted himself by sending a wave to someone behind you. “sup, guys?”

You whirled around to see two skeletons walking over to your group. The first one that caught your eye was about a foot shorter than you, and the thing that drew your eye to him was his energy level. His energy could rival yours when you went into ‘fangirl mode’. He was wearing tan slacks, a bright blue button down with the sleeves rolled up, navy blue dress shoes and a blue patterned bandana around his neck. 

_Cute!_ You squealed in your head, as you focused your attention on the much taller skeleton strolling along behind the blue ball of energy. He was wearing a dark purple polo with the buttons undone, a pair of black slacks that accentuated his long legs, and a pair of purple canvas boat shoes that really _suited_ the whole ‘business casual’ look he had going on. As your eyes traveled up, you spotted the purple and gold collar around his neck peeking out from under his polo. When you finally made it up to his face, he sent you a wink as his fanged smile pulled into a smirk.

 _Busted!_ You thought as you flushed from embarrassment at being caught checking out the two new additions. _Oh no… More skele-sins to haunt my dreams…_ you groaned to yourself, abruptly turning back around and face planting onto the table. _Man… I really need to get working on that harem…_

“-er lady? hey, ___ , you wit’ us?”

You sat up straight as you finally heard Red trying to get your attention. “Huh? What? I didn’t do it, I swear!” you blurted out.

“chill, girly,” Red chuckled, waving a hand towards the skeletons that had reached the table while you were in your own head. “jes’ wanted ya ta meet blue ‘nd mutt.”

“sup,” Mutt smirked at you.

“Greetings human coworkers!” Blue chirped happily, shaking your hand before bouncing off to do the same with the others at the table.

“Wow…” you said a little breathlessly, watching Blue fly around the table. “I wish I had that much energy… Well maybe not all the time. He reminds me of this time in college when I had like five energy drinks in a row… pretty sure I scared people with how bubbly I was acting, _especially_ when I started giggling…”

Mutt and Red shared a laugh as the rest of the table went back to their own conversations. Blue eventually ended up back with the three of you and all four of you decided to eat lunch together. Blue sat down next to Red and pulled out a tupperware of tacos. The smell alone made you start drooling as you stared at the plastic box.

“Man, I haven’t had tacos in way too long. Those smell fucking amazing...” you sighed dreamily.

“Language!” Blue scolded with a slight frown, before he sighed and held out one of his tacos to you. “Perhaps we could work on your language over the bonding experience known as Friendship Tacos?” he asked as you eagerly grabbed the offered taco.

Shoving it into your mouth and taking a large bite, you nodded in response as you practically moaned at the taste of the taco. “Mmmm…. So gooood….” You stiffened as you felt someone sit down right next to you. You pulled the taco close to your body, hunching over it protectively, before quickly finishing it off, daring anyone to try and take it from you.

“so, your th’ laser lady i’ve heard so much about?” Mutt drawled, putting his arm around your shoulders and pulling you against him.

“And you seem to be just as much trouble as I was warned about,” you replied after you finished your mouthful and ducked out from under Mutt’s arm. You sent a glare towards Red for good measure, since he was just sitting there, shaking with silent laughter.

“aw, darlin’,” Mutt chuckled as he let you squirm away without much fuss. “i hear you're gonna come to our show on friday?”

“The possibility lessens the more of your _shin_ -nanigans I have to put up with,” you said, sending the tall skeleton a flat look.

A moment of silence went by before Blue let out a groan as your pun registered. “Mweh? Human, no! Not you too!” Mutt and Red both started laughing audibly as Blue looked at you with disappointment.

 _No, not disappointment! Blue, my sweet cinnamon roll, please forgive me for my transgressions!_ You pleaded in your mind as you sent the shortest skeleton a pout along with your best puppy dog eyes.

“I _guess_ we can still make Friendship Tacos,” he sighed after a moment, unable to keep looking at your puppy dog eyes. “But! No puns! Not in _my_ kitchen!”

“I supposed I can deal with that…” you let out a dramatic sigh as you stood up from the table. “Now if you gentlemen would excuse me, there’s a stick of nicotine calling my name.”

Blue rolled his eyelights at you, but refrained from making any comments. Red and Mutt, however, stood up to follow you over to your car, where you had opened the trunk to sit while you enjoyed your smoke. As the two approached, you wordlessly tossed your pack of cigarettes to Red followed by your lighter, that was totally not aimed to smack him right between the eye sockets if he didn’t catch it. Looking at Mutt, you quirked your brow as you asked, “You need to bum cigs too?”

“nope, i’m good, darlin’,” he sent you a wink as he held up a dog treat.

“Red? Is that normal?” you asked, shoving your thumb towards Mutt.

“mutt? nah, far from it. the dog treat? yeah, ‘ts a monster thin’. kinda like a flavored cigar ‘r somethin’.”

“Like clove cigarillos? Or is it more like smoking a joint?” you asked, narrowing your eyes suspiciously as Mutt held the lit dog treat out towards you.

“more like the cloves. if i wanted ta smoke a blunt, i’d go find th’ honeybun and just smoke a blunt,” Mutt shrugged, waving the dog treat in front of your face. “it ain’t gonna bite ya, darlin’.” He leaned closer to you as you took the dog treat from him and purred in your ear, “but i might.”

You kept your face carefully blank as you put your hand on Mutt’s leering face and pushed him away. “Bad dog. No.” you deadpanned. “Do I need to start carrying around a spray bottle?”

Red let out a snort of laughter as you flat out ignored Mutt attempting to send you his version of puppy dog eyes and took a drag off the dog treat, crinkling your nose at the strange almost floral taste.

“It’s… different. Not _bad_ , but definitely odd,” you commented as you passed the treat back to Mutt and finished off your own menthol cigarette.

“So how’s your first day going so far?” you asked as the three of you headed back over to where Blue was sitting and chatting with Blake and the others.

“can’t complain. bossman’s pretty chill,” Mutt shrugged, sitting on the picnic bench with his back to the table. 

You nodded in agreement as you turned to the other skeleton. “What about you Blue? How’s your first day going so far?”

“Fantastic! They’re going to let me start answering phone calls already!”

“Impressive,” you said, nodding in approval. “I know some of the girls were here for a _week_ before they were allowed to answer the phones.”

“Mweh heh heh! It’s nothing for the Magnificent Blue!” he said, striking a pose as his eyelights turned into stars. “Human ___! Lunch is almost over, but can I get your number before I go? This way we can set up a time to make Friendship Tacos!”

“Sure thing, Blue,” You took his phone, saved your number and called yourself to have his number for later. As you handed Blue’s phone back to him, you felt a weight on your head as another phone appeared in your face. Glancing up, you realized Mutt was on top of you, using your head as a chin rest as he held his phone out. Rolling your eyes, you repeated the whole process with Mutt’s phone, shoving it back in his face when you were done. Narrowing your eyes at the tall skeleton, you pointed at him as you warned him, “I was serious about the spray bottle, Mutt. Don’t test me.”

“sure thing, darlin’,” he drawled, with a lazy smile.

“alrigh’, mutt, scram. time ta get back ta work,” Red grumbled at the taller skeleton who was still standing _way too close_ to you. With a short warning growl, Red bumped his shoulder in to Mutt, causing Mutt to look down at him with a slight frown and a raised brow bone.

“whatever. later ___. later, cherry pie.” Mutt eventually said, ending the little standoff and following Blue back upstairs to the office area.

“You gonna tell me what that was all about?” you asked Red after the other two had left.

“nope,” he replied, popping the ‘p’ as he walked next to you.

“Fine, you bonehead,” you huffed out as the two of you split up to continue your varying tasks.

Red went back to reassembling the inner workings of the punch machine, and when he was ready to fire it up, he pulled you over. 

“start it up, doll. see how it works now.”

You flipped the power on, watching the machine boot up skeptically. To your utter shock, it started up on the first time without any problems. As you stared, mouth agape, at the little green ‘ready’ light, you turned to the smug skeleton beside you.

“What sort of black magic, voodoo, nonsense did you do? How many virgins were sacrificed to make this happen?”

Red let out a startled laugh. “none o’ tha’. jes reseated a few components and cleaned up some o’ th’ wirin’. should be good fer a while.”

You threw your arms around the edgy skeleton, instantly turning him bright red. “OMG! You’re so awesome! This thing has _literally_ been the bane of my existence for like _forever!_ ” You released Red to dance around in a little circle to celebrate. “Oh man, we have to go tell Blake!” you said as you grabbed Red’s hand and dragged him along as you hunted down your Jamaican coworker.

“uh... y-yea… n-no problem, doll…” the still blushing skeleton stammered out as he was pulled along behind you.

“Blake!” you called out as you entered the Sheet Metal area. “Guess what!”

“Ya broke skeleman over there?” he asked, chuckling at the state Red was in and the two of you stopped in front of him.

“Huh? Oh, oops, maybe,” You shrugged glancing over your shoulder to check on Red. “but, _besides_ that, Red fixed the punch!”

“Bout fuckin’ time someone did,” Blake huffed in amusement. “Good for ya, Skeleman! Now we don’ hafta listen ta Laser Lady bitch an’ moan e’ery time she needs ta run it!”

“cool,” Red managed to get out, finally getting himself under control, as you pouted at Blake.

“Was there anyt’in else ya needed?” Blake asked, turning his attention back to the break press he was working at.

“Nope!” you smiled as you led Red back to the laser lair. Walking over to your desk, you shuffled through the papers there, and pulled out the stack of plastic part orders. “You wanna run the punch for a bit?”

“sure, why not?” Red agreed, taking the stack of orders from you.

You ran him through the process of loading new programs into the machine and showed him how to swap out the different punch tools, before you left him to run the machine on his own. After letting him know to come find you if he had any questions with _anything_ , you went back to the laser to check on the progress of all the circles.

At quitting time, after you had shown Red the ‘proper’ way to turn off the punch (just flip the main power supply), the two of you walked out to your car. He said goodbye and watched you drive away while he waited for Mutt and Blue to clock out and meet him in the parking lot.

~ ~ ~

When you got home that evening, you took a quick shower, changed into your fuzzy pj pants and a random tank top, threw on your fluffy robe and settled in for a relaxing night of chilling with some video games. Checking your phone before you got started, you remembered to actually save the numbers you got during lunch from Blue and Mutt. You saved Blue under ‘Blueberry’ for now, until something better came to you, and Mutt was immediately entered as ‘Stranger Danger’. Chuckling to yourself, you set your phone aside to pull up your SNES emulator on your computer and fired up ‘Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past’. You had been really into watching the randomizer tournaments on Twitch lately and you had finally decided to try it for yourself.

Stumbling your way through a rando seed, you let out an annoyed huff as you paused the game to look up how to perform the ‘fake flipper’ glitch _again_. The buzzing of your phone caught your attention as you scrolled through the Discord Community’s ‘Tips and Tricks’ board trying to find the link to the video tutorial. Giving up on it for the moment, you grabbed your phone and headed outside for a cigarette to take your mind off of the struggles you were having with the game.

Pulling up your phone, you rolled your eyes when you saw new messages from Red Alert and Stranger Danger along with an unknown number. Clicking on the unknown number first, you smiled as you read through the message.

> (unknown): Hello, ___! This is the Great Papyrus! Or, as everyone calls me now, Paps! Blue gave me your number after he told me all about meeting you at work today! He mentioned you would be joining him for Friendship Tacos at some point, and I wished to inquire if you would be amicable to joining me for Friendship Spaghetti? Truly, cooking together is the best way to make friends, don’t you think so? Ahem, I believe this message has gone on quite long enough, so farewell for now! I look forward to finally meeting you on Friday at our show! ^_^

_Holy crap!_ You laughed to yourself as you saved his number under ‘The GREAT Paps’. _These skeleboys are gonna be the death of me. Between the sweet cinnamon buns and the bad boys… hoo boy…_ You fanned your face as you leaned against the railing. Navigating back to the message from Paps, you sent him a quick reply.

> You: I can’t wait to meet you all! Friendship Spaghetti sounds like fun. We’ll definitely have to set up a date for that sometime!

You switched over to Red’s message next, a flutter of nervous excitement running through you.

> Red Alert: heya doll
> 
> Red Alert: dont think we’re gonna b able 2 hang b4 the show on fri
> 
> Red Alert: the guys wanna rehearse @ the bar b4 we go on. rain check on the drink?

You sighed and tried not to let the slight disappointment turn into anything worse.

> You: No worries! We can hang out some other time or something. Show biz and all that jazz.
> 
> Red Alert: thx doll, ur the best

You let out another small sigh when he replied, switching back to the thread with Paps to distract yourself, and since he had responded while you were answering Red.

> The GREAT Paps: Wowie! This is going to be so much fun! Do you have any food allergies that we should be aware of?
> 
> You: Nope! No food allergies to worry about.

You didn’t bother to mention your _slight_ allergy to beer to the sweetheart of a skeleton. It wasn’t really _that_ bad and honestly, it was the _hops_ you had the reaction to and by the point you were willingly drinking beer, you were usually drunk enough to not care about the way your nose got congested.

> The GREAT Paps: Perfect! Have a wonderful night and I will talk to you again soon!
> 
> You: Talk to you soon, Paps!

With yet another sigh, you lit up another cigarette before you opened the messages from Mutt, already having the feeling that you were going to need it.

> Stranger Danger: hey darlin
> 
> Stranger Danger: it was a real pleasure ta meet ya 2day
> 
> You: Jury’s still out on whether I feel the same -_-
> 
> Stranger Danger: ow harsh darlin

You let out a snort as Mutt continued typing.

> Stranger Danger: and here i was gonna ask if i could borrow ya durin our show
> 
> You: Borrow me? For what ?! >_>
> 
> Stranger Danger: nothin bad ;)
> 
> Stranger Danger: i wont hurt ya darlin
> 
> You: I might hurt you though Mutt…
> 
> Stranger Danger: is that a threat or a promise?
> 
> You: None of this answers the question of what you want to use me for at the show.
> 
> Stranger Danger: just wanna pull ya up on stage during one of my songs ta sing ta ya

You _knew_ some of the songs that Mutt sang could get a little… saucy, and you weren’t quite ready to just blindly agree to something like this with him, without getting all the details first. You bit your lip as you thought about how you really _wouldn’t_ mind being up on stage with any of them… provided you had enough alcohol in your system to numb your anxiety about being up there in front of people in the first place. Shaking your head to clear your thoughts, you read through the messages he had sent while you were lost in your head.

> Stranger Danger: i was thinking of pullin ya up durin ‘fresh’
> 
> Stranger Danger: i can make sure it’ll be ok with the others if ur worried about it
> 
> Stranger Danger: darlin?
> 
> You: Fresh isn’t too bad… I’ll think about it…
> 
> Stranger Danger: sweet. ill make sure the guys are cool but i dont think ne1 but red is gonna complain.
> 
> You: I didn’t agree to anything yet Mutt! I said I’ll think about it!
> 
> You: Why would Red have a problem with it????
> 
> Stranger Danger: his story not mine. nite darlin

“What the _fuck_ , Mutt?” you grumbled as you headed back inside, making a mental note to ask Red about it in the morning. You played through ‘A Link to the Past’ for a few more hours, finally managing to activate ‘fake flippers’ and eventually completing the seed. After you shut everything down, you plugged in your phone and headed to bed for the night, making sure you left yourself a note on your phone to talk to Red about Mutt.


	4. Steel-ing The Spotlight, As You Watch From The Shadows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Its finally show time! You freak out about to wear, then have a little too much to drink... But everything's gonna be fine! Your skellies will take care of you!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Songs in this Chapter:  
> \------------------------------------  
> Phantom by NateWantsToBattle  
> Animal I Have Become by Three Days Grace  
> Different Songs by Set It Off  
> Down With the Sickness by Disturbed  
> Killer in the Mirror by Set It Off  
> Indestructible by Disturbed

The second you spotted Red walk into work that morning, you marched over to him with a frown on your face.

“Why does Mutt think you’ll have a problem with me being brought up on stage during one of his songs?”

“uh… wha’? Morning ta ya too, doll,” Red said with a raised brow bone, looking at you like you were crazy. To be fair, you definitely weren’t 100% sane either…

“I was talking with Mutt last night after work,  _ after _ you told me you wouldn’t be able to meet up early before the show. He asked if he could ‘borrow’ me for one of his songs. I told him I’d think about it and he said he’d make sure it was okay with the rest of you, followed by ‘I don’t think anyone but Red will complain’.  _ Why? _ ”

“wha’ song?”

“Fresh,” you answered with a shrug. “I  _ am _ aware of what types of songs Mutt usually sings. That was the first thing I asked him, trust me. I’m not about to put myself in situations that make me uncomfortable. Not without a liberal application of alcohol at any rate.”

Red let out a weary sigh and rubbed a hand over his face. “i don’ have any problem wit’ ya joinin’ us up on stage, doll. it’s jes’ somethin’ stupid b’tween me ‘nd th’ mongrel…”

“Are you sure there’s no problem?” you asked, staring at the skeleton skeptically. “Because, on one hand, I  _ really _ want to do this. It’s like a dream come true in a way, being up on stage with my favorite band… On the other hand, I will one- _ hundred _ percent refuse if it is going to make  _ any _ of you uncomfortable.”

“nah, m’sure doll,” Red gave you a crooked smile. “it’ll be fun havin’ ya up there. maybe at th’ next show, me ‘nd ya could sing t’gether,” he added with a wink.

“Sheesh, you could  _ at least _ take me on a date before you ask me to  _ duet _ with you up on stage.” You sent the skeleton your own exaggerated wink and watched him turn bright red before you walked away, cackling.

~ ~  ~

Thursday flew by, and so did Friday with Red eventually able to look at you again without blushing, even offering to pitch in as you went through your weekly routine of ‘deep cleaning’ the laser and its surrounding area. Soon enough, work was over and the two of you split up with the promise to hang out for a bit after the show that night. You headed home, took a shower, and started to get yourself ready to go out that night.

Which led you to ending up in your current predicament of standing in front of your closet, still only wearing your robe after your shower.

“Help meeeee!” you whined into your phone. You were totally panicking and over thinking everything, so you called your best friend from college and good-as-brother, Will. “What the hell am I supposed to wear?!”

“Jesus Christ, ___, calm the fuck down before you blow out my eardrums,” Will laughed. “Put me on video and I’ll help. But I  _ swear _ , ___, if you fucking flash me again, I’m disowning you.”

“Thank you!” You said, choosing to ignore the empty threat, and switching over to a video chat before setting your phone on top of your dresser. “So, I know I want to wear these, but I don’t know what to do for a top,” you said, holding up a pair of black skinny jeans with intentional rips in them.

“What about that purple top that you wore to the Christmas party last year?” your friend suggested as he watched you scramble around your room with amusement.

“This one?” you held up a dark purple top, with flowy bell sleeves that started at the elbows. “This could work…”

“That, the jeans, and those new ankle boot heels things you got recently. Voilà! You’re ready to go out and party,” Will said waving his hands around. “So, ___, I have to ask… is this a date?”

“What? NO!” you said way too quickly, causing you friend to shoot you a very unimpressed look. “It’s  _ not _ … I’m just going to see Forgotten Underground play at this bar that’s like ten minutes from my house. One of the new guys at work, well, technically two but only one that I work directly with, is part of the band and he invited me to come see them play…”

“So… it’s not a date, but you  _ definitely _ want it to be one, or lead to one.”

You blushed, knowing you really shouldn’t try to hide these sort of things from Will. He could read you like an open book, and never failed to call you out on your bullshit. “Well… you’re not wrong…”

“Ha! I knew it,” Will said with a smug smirk. “You never freak out this bad unless it’s something like that.”

Flipping him off, you moved out of view of the camera to throw on the clothes you had settled on, opting for a strapless bra this time, since the shirt sat off your shoulders and straight across your chest.

“So, how do I look?” you asked, giving a small twirl as you moved back in front of the camera.

“Awesome. Now what are you going to do with your hair?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at your still damp wavy hair hanging down, loose around your shoulders.

“I was gonna straighten it, and leave it down,” you shrugged. “Maybe throw some eyeliner on for good measure, and just call it good enough.”

Will rolled his eyes. “I’ll allow it. Send me pictures tomorrow. When you’re sober again. I don’t need anymore hour-long drunk voicemails, thank you very much.”

“Yeah, yeah, _ will _ do.” You rolled your eyes back at him, as you dragged a brush through your hair. “Oh, hang on. Red’s texting me.” You set down the brush and grabbed your phone off the dresser to answer the skeleton.

> Red Alert: knock knock

“A fucking ‘knock-knock’ joke? Really?” you said out loud as you typed out your reply.

“Hey! Don’t dis the classics,” Will laughed, faking offense.

“Whatever,” you snorted as you returned your attention to the texts.

> You: Who’s there?
> 
> Red Alert: wood
> 
> You: Wood who?
> 
> Red Alert: wood you uh go out wit me saturday night?

You stared at your phone blankly, as a choked off sound escaped your mouth.

“___?” Will’s voice came from the speaker, snapping you out of your daze.

“Holy shit…”

“What? What happened?”

“Redjustaskedmeoutonadate.”

“Try that again?” Will chuckled. “Slower and preferably in English, thanks.”

“Asshole,” you grumbled before you repeated yourself. “Red just asked me out on a date.”

“Nice! What did you tell him?”

“Uh…”

“___! Answer the poor guy, woman!” Will scolded, feeling for the guy for having to put up with you on a daily basis. Will was spared from the chaos known as “___” since he lived several states away.

“Oh, uh, right, yeah…” you mumbled as your fingers fumbled over the keyboard.

> You: Sure!
> 
> You: What time?
> 
> Red Alert: sweet
> 
> Red Alert: i was thinkin 6?
> 
> You: Yeah, sounds perfect!
> 
> Red Alert: cool
> 
> Red Alert: its a date ;)
> 
> Red Alert: c u 2nite
> 
> You: Yeah, see ya

“OMG! OMG!” you squealed, dancing around your room. “I have a date on Saturday!”

“Yay! I’ll be expecting your call tomorrow around noon,” Will deadpanned.

“Probably. Love ya!” You said sticking your tongue out. 

“Love ya too, go finish getting ready. Send pics and I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Bye, Will!”

“Bye, ___.”

Hanging up the video chat, you plugged your phone into the charger while you finished getting ready. Looking at the clock after you finished with your hair, you swore when you saw that it was almost 7PM. The show started at eight and you had wanted to head over a bit early.

_ Man, panicked flailing eats up a lot of time, _ you grumbled in your head as you dug out your sparkly purple, “Sugar Plum” eyeliner. Moving over to the mirror, you hastily applied the make up, tracing the shape of your eyes and adding ‘wings’, before stepping back to give yourself a once over.

“Good enough,” you shrugged, zipping up your boots. You decided against a jacket since it was pretty warm outside and you quickly hopped in your trusty Rav4 and headed to ‘Elsewhere’.

~ ~  ~

It was 7:30PM when you finally pulled into the parking lot of ‘Elsewhere’, quickly pulling into one of the last available parking spots. Running your hand through your straightened hair, you locked your car and walked across the parking lot to the main entrance of the bar. You looked around somewhat nervously as you entered, since you always felt a bit anxious in large crowds, at least until you started drinking.

Carefully weaving your way through the crowd, you managed to snag a spot at the bar where you still had a good view of the stage. Giving the bartender you drink order, you looked up to the stage where all the members of Forgotten Underground were making last minute adjustments to the setup.

Red spotted you as he was talking with two skeletons you hadn’t met yet, and he sent you a wink. You flushed as you sent him a little wave in return. Sipping at your Captain and Ginger, you watched with growing excitement as everyone got into position and the overhead lights dimmed.

The band started playing as Mutt grabbed the microphone off the stand. “thanks for all comin’ out t’night,” he drawled, getting everyone’s attention focused up on the stage, and started to ramp up the energy. “we are Forgotten Underground! enjoy the show!”

_ (Mutt) (Woo!) _

_ (Mutt) I'm just a phantom in your room _

_ With no intent on leaving soon _

_ And you're still not even sure just how I got here _

_ Another ghost that's in your bed _

_ That you wish you could leave for dead _

_ Ain't no magic word can make me disappear _

As he sang the word ‘disappear’, he sent a wink to the audience and stepped through a shortcut to the other side of the room. He prowled and slipped his way through the crowd as he continued to sing, slowly making his way back up to the stage.

You quickly took a large gulp of your drink, flustered by seeing their magic in action for the first time.

_ (Mutt) Now that room, it starts to dim _

_ Set the mood for onset sin _

_ And now we're passed out on the floor of your apartment _

_ With every single warning sign _

_ It passed you up and slipped you by _

_ But we're all bound to end up back to where we started, yeah _

As the chorus started up, Red, on guitar, and Rus, on the bass, both leaned into their mics to join Mutt in singing.

_ (Mutt) Make no mistake _

_ I'll break you down _

_ (Rus) (Whoa-oh-oh, whoa-oh-oh) _

_ (Mutt) Shout it around town _

_ (Mutt/ Red) I'm not what you want _

_ But I'm exactly what you need _

_ Take a bite and feed _

_ Your satisfaction guaranteed _

_ I'm your sunshine, whoa _

_ I'm gonna burn down your parade _

_ I'm a shooting star _

_ That wish you wished you never made _

_ (Mutt) Don't wanna take a leap of faith _

_ You wanna do this face to face _

_ And like an animal the instincts taken over _

_ There ain't nothing to debate _

_ Blow this purgatory state _

_ The city lights will drown you out in the exposure _

_ Now that room, it starts to dim _

_ Set the mood for onset sin _

_ And now we're passed out on the floor of your apartment _

_ With every single warning sign _

_ It passed you up and slipped you by _

_ But we're all bound to end up back to where we started, yeah _

You took a moment to appreciate finally being able to see Forgotten Underground live. Mutt was wearing a band shirt with the sleeves cut off and the sides ripped open, black skinny jeans with rips in the knees, black combat boots, and a belt around his hips that matched his collar. He was really owning the stage up there as he danced around in time with the music and interacted with the audience. Going to take a sip of your drink and finding it empty, you ordered another, and sat back to watch Mutt perform with the rest of the guys.

_ (Mutt) Make no mistake _

_ I'll break you down _

_ (Rus) (Whoa-oh-oh, whoa-oh-oh) _

_ (Mutt) Shout it around town _

_ (Mutt/ Red) I'm not what you want _

_ But I'm exactly what you need _

_ Take a bite and feed _

_ Your satisfaction guaranteed _

_ I'm your sunshine, whoa _

_ I'm gonna burn down your parade _

_ I'm a shooting star _

_ That wish you wished you never made _

_ (Mutt) This world is what you need _

_ Where the monsters roam and the demons all feed _

_ Relax don't you look so wary _

_ It's all only temporary _

_ We roam and sing along _

_ While the choir joins in sing an abhorrent song _

_ We bite, it's a little bit scary _

_ The pain's only temporary _

_ (Red) (HA HA HA HA) _

_ (Mutt) I'm not what you want _

_ But I'm exactly what you need _

_ Take a bite and feed _

_ Your satisfaction guaranteed _

_ (Mutt/ Red) I'm not what you want _

_ But I'm exactly what you need _

_ Take a bite and feed _

_ Your satisfaction guaranteed _

_ I'm your sunshine, whoa _

_ I'm gonna burn down your parade _

_ I'm a shooting star _

_ That wish you wished you never made _

_ (Mutt) Wish you wish you never made _

As Mutt finished singing, the stage lights dimmed out until there was only a single spotlight over Paps as he played the outro of the song on his keyboard. You jumped at the opportunity to study his outfit, since out of all of the members of the band, Paps was the only one who didn’t sing other than the occasional back up parts. For the performance, Paps was wearing a tuxedo print tee, distressed blue jeans, black hi-top Converse and a bright orange scarf draped casually around his neck.

The last notes on the keyboard faded out and the lights shifted as Rus and Edge started up the next song, with the bass and drums. Mutt began to sing again, with Rus leaning into his mic to sing as well.

_ (Mutt) I can't escape this hell _

_ So many times I've tried _

_ But I'm still caged inside _

_ (Mutt/ Rus) Somebody get me through this nightmare _

_ (Mutt) I can't control myself _

_ (Mutt/ Rus) So what if you can see the darkest side of me? _

_ No one would ever change this animal I have become _

_ Help me believe it's not the real me _

_ (Mutt) Somebody help me tame this animal _

_ (Rus) (This animal, this animal) _

_ (Mutt) I can't escape myself _

_ (Rus) (I can't escape myself) _

_ (Mutt) So many times I've lied _

_ (Rus) (So many times I've lied) _

_ (Mutt) But there's still rage inside _

_ (Mutt/ Rus) Somebody get me through this nightmare _

_ (Mutt) I can't control myself _

_ (Mutt/ Rus) So what if you can see the darkest side of me? _

_ No one would ever change this animal I have become _

_ Help me believe it's not the real me _

_ Somebody help me tame this animal I have become _

_ (Mutt/ Rus) Help me believe it's not the real me _

_ (Mutt) Somebody help me tame this animal _

_ (Mutt/ Rus) Somebody help me through this nightmare _

_ I can't control myself _

_ Somebody wake me from this nightmare _

_ (Mutt) I can't escape this hell _

_ (Rus) (This animal, this animal, this animal _

_ This animal, this animal, this animal, this animal) _

_ (Mutt) So what if you can see the darkest side of me? _

_ No one will ever change this animal I have become _

_ (Mutt/ Rus) Help me believe it's not the real me _

_ Somebody help me tame this animal I have become _

_ Help me believe it's not the real me _

_ Somebody help me tame this animal _

_ (Rus) (This animal I have become) _

You smiled as they finished the song, but you were distracted by a loud conversation coming from a group of girls standing behind you.

“ ‘Animal I Have Become’? Psh, if that animal was a  _ pussycat _ , maybe!” the girl who seemed to be the ‘leader’ of the clique said.

“Oh my gosh! Like, who even does that?” one of her lackeys responded.

You narrowed your eyes as you sneakily glanced over your shoulder at the gaggle of giggling girls.

“Weren’t you dating the bass player?” another girl asked the first, or “Bitchtits Mcgee” as you were now calling her in your head.

“Yeah. But he fucked up.  _ Big time _ . I’m expecting  _ at least _ a song or two dedicated to me, if he even  _ thinks _ he has a shot of getting back with me,” Bitchtits scoffed, sipping from some frou-frou cocktail.

“Like, what even happened, Ker-Bear?” yet another one of Bitchtits’ fanclub asked.

“So, like, get this. He tells me his heat is gonna hit soon, right? So, I’m expecting like a week long session of the most mind blowing sex, like  _ ever _ ,” Bitchtits explained to her posse, as you downed the rest of your drink in an effort to  _ not _ turn around and slap this chick upside the head. “So we had dinner and then headed to my room to, you know,  _ get busy _ . And when I finally get his pants off,  _ there’s a fucking cunt where his dick should be! _ Like, seriously? What the crap!” Bitchtits and her brat pack giggled.

“So like, what happened?”

Bitchtits Mcgee rolled her eyes. “I told him to get the hell away from me, and  _ stay away _ , until he figured out how to be a  _ real _ man.”

The gaggle of girls all chimed in with various sympathetic noises and you forcefully tuned them out.

_ I will not punch a bitch out. I will not punch a bitch out,  _ you chanted in your head, gritting your teeth. Waving over the bartender, you ordered your ‘Magic Blue Drink’, a.k.a. Blue Long Island Iced Tea.  _ I’m way too sober for this shit… _ you thought to yourself as the bartender placed the bright blue concoction in front of you.  _ Especially if Mutt wants me to get up on stage… _ Realizing you had only made it two songs into the show, and you had switched to the Magic Blue Drinks already, you came to the conclusion that you were  _ not _ going to be driving home tonight. With a shrug, you sipped your Blue LI Tea and watched as Mutt and Rus sang the next song together.

_ (Mutt) Fresh out the box, shiny and new _

_ Played it so much till it went out of tune _

_ I tighten the peg till the tension erupts _

_ Didn't think that I could give up _

_ (Rus) The record I spun when I was young _

_ Spoke to my heart and fit just like a glove _

_ But now that it's played out, the needle is worn _

_ Didn't think that I could give up _

_ (Mutt) What changed? What changed? _

_ It's more than just our age _

_ Or how the music tastes, so I'm asking _

_ "What changed? What changed?" _

_ (Mutt/ Rus) 'Cause now we're singing different songs _

_ Forgetting how to sing along together _

_ When every note comes out so wrong _

_ It keeps on getting harder to remember _

_ The melodies or what the lyrics mean _

_ 'Cause now we're singing different songs _

_ Forgetting how to sing along together _

_ (Mutt) We once called it love, devolved into lust _

_ Jealousy speaks out to silence the trust _

_ We temper our words 'cause we're scared of the truth _

_ Humming tunes that we can't get through _

_ (Rus) When I hear your voice, I hear someone else _

_ The stress on my heart's getting bad for my health _

_ So should we admit that we've both had enough? _

_ Didn't think that we could give up _

_ (Mutt) So what changed? What changed? _

_ It's more than just our age _

_ Or how the music tastes, so I'm asking _

_ "What changed? What changed?" _

_ (Mutt/ Rus) 'Cause now we're singing different songs _

_ Forgetting how to sing along together _

_ When every note comes out so wrong _

_ It keeps on getting harder to remember _

_ The melodies, or what the lyrics mean _

_ 'Cause now we're singing different songs _

_ Forgetting how to sing along together _

_ (Mutt) Whoa-oh-oh-oh! _

_ (Rus) (Whoa-oh-oh-oh!) _

_ (Mutt) Whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh! _

_ (Rus) (Whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh!) _

_ (Mutt) Whoa-oh-oh-oh! _

_ (Rus) (Whoa-oh-oh-oh!) _

_ (Mutt/ Rus) Can't sing along together _

_ (Mutt) Face to face,  _

_ (Rus) so far apart _

_ (Mutt) We're worlds away from what we were before,  _

_ (Rus) before,  _

_ (Mutt/ Rus) before _

_ (Mutt/ Rus) We started singing different songs _

_ Forgetting how to sing along together _

_ When every note comes out so wrong _

_ It keeps on getting harder to remember _

_ The melodies or what the lyrics mean _

_ 'Cause now we're singing different songs _

_ Forgetting how to sing along together _

_ Can't sing along together _

After the song was done, Red, wearing a blood red sleeveless tee, black jeans and boots, and a belt around his hips that matched his collar similar to Mutt, set down his guitar and looked over to the bar where he had seen you last. Sending you a wink, he waited for Mutt to introduce him.

“thank y’all so much! y’all havin’ a good time so far?” He asked the crowd, smiling wider when they all cheered, you included. “awesome ta hear! now as y’all know, we like ta share the spotlight here in Forgotten Underground. so as much as i like serenadin’ y’all, i’m gonna pass the mic off ta red now.”

Another round of cheers went up as Red stepped up to the mic. “thanks mutt. now git yer guitar on and let’s get ‘down with the sickness’,” Red growled into the mic as Mutt grabbed a different guitar,  _ his  _ guitar, and nodded to Edge behind the drums, who sent a smirk to the crowd as he started up the song.

Still sipping on your Magic Blue Drink, you tapped your fingers on the bar in time with Edge. With a smirk, you mouthed the words to Red’s singing perfectly in sync with him the entire time, even mouthing the parts you never actually sang, since you couldn’t get them to sound right.

_ (Rus) Can you feel that? _

_ (Mutt) Ah, shit _

_ (Paps/ Edge) Oh, ah, ah, ah, ah _

_ (Paps/ Edge) Oh, ah, ah, ah, ah _

_ (Red) uh, uh  _

_ (Red) uh, uh _

_ (Red) uh, uh _

_ (Red) Drowning deep in my sea of loathing _

_ Broken your servant I kneel _

_ (Rus) (Will you give in to me?) _

_ (Red) It seems what's left of my “human” side _

_ Is slowly changing in me _

_ (Mutt) (Will you give in to me?) _

_ (Red) Looking at my own reflection _

_ When suddenly it changes _

_ Violently it changes  _

_ (Paps) (oh no) _

_ (Red) There is no turning back now _

_ You've woken up the demon in me _

_ (Red) Get up, come on get down with the sickness _

_ Get up, come on get down with the sickness _

_ Get up, come on get down with the sickness _

_ Open up your hate, and let it flow into me _

_ (Red) Get up, come on get down with the sickness _

_ You mother get up come on get down with the sickness _

_ You fucker get up come on get down with the sickness _

_ Madness is the gift, that has been given to me _

_ (Red) I can see inside you, the sickness is rising _

_ Don't try to deny what you feel _

_ (Rus) (Will you give in to me?) _

_ (Red) It seems that all that was good has died _

_ And is decaying in me _

_ (Mutt) (Will you give in to me?) _

_ (Red) It seems you're having some trouble _

_ In dealing with these changes _

_ Living with these changes _

_ (Paps) (oh no) _

_ (Red) The world is a scary place _

_ Now that you've woken up the demon in me _

_ (Red) Get up, come on get down with the sickness _

_ Get up, come on get down with the sickness _

_ Get up, come on get down with the sickness _

_ Open up your hate, and let it flow into me _

_ (Red) Get up, come on get down with the sickness _

_ You mother get up come on get down with the sickness _

_ You fucker get up come on get down with the sickness _

_ Madness is the gift, that has been given to me _

_ (Red) And when I dream _

_ (Rus) And when I dream _

_ (Mutt) And when I dream _

_ (Red) And when I dream _

_ (Paps/ Edge) Oh, ah, ah, ah, ah _

_ (Red) Get up, come on get down with the sickness _

_ Get up, come on get down with the sickness _

_ Get up, come on get down with the sickness _

_ Open up your hate, and let it flow into me _

_ (Red) Get up, come on get down with the sickness _

_ You mother get up come on get down with the sickness _

_ You fucker get up come on get down with the sickness _

_ Madness has now come over me _

As Red sang the last line, he let his magic flare up in his left eye socket. The bright red flame licked against the side of his skull before disappearing instantly as the song ended. A shiver went down your spine at the sight, but it most definitely was  _ not _ from fear. Ordering another Magic Blue Drink, you squirmed in your seat.  _ I’m so glad I’m here… who knew I’d get a chance to see their magic  _ and _ their singing live! _ you thought, taking a drink.  _ Hoo boy… these drinks are strong… I really should pace myself… _ You tried to be a responsible adult about it, you really did, but you already told yourself you were walking home tonight so....  _ YOLO! _ you shrugged mentally as Red and Edge swapped places. Taking in Edge’s appearance as he grinned devilishly at the crowd. You sighed internally. _ Why are they all so frickin’ hot?  _ you bemoaned. Edge was wearing crimson boots that came up just below his knees, form-fitting leather pants that had you and every other female in the place drooling, a black sleeveless tee and a bright red scarf around his neck, worn in a similar fashion to Paps. Combined with the trio of claw-mark-like scars over his left eye socket and sharp fangs, Edge was the very  _ definition _ of ‘the bad boy that your momma warned you about’. Taking a large gulp of your drink to  _ attempt _ to calm yourself down, your eyes remained glued to the stage as Edge began to sing the first of his two songs, with Red and Mutt jumping on the back up vocals.

_ (Edge) Look out, they're closing in on you now _

_ Wake up, or you'll wake up six feet down _

_ Nobody's got your back in this town _

_ (Edge/ Red) Knock 'em in the teeth now _

_ (Edge) Out here, there's no negotiation _

_ No room to start a conversation _

_ Before you get a taste, it's taken _

_ (Edge/ Red) Never let your guard down _

_ (Mutt) Get back, put your hands up, kinda messed up, but it's tough luck _

_ And I'm sorry, but I don't feel bad for you _

_ 'Cause I know if you could switch this, you'd be dishing out the same shit _

_ Saying sorry, but I don't feel bad _

_ (Edge) Now I know there's no one I can trust _

_ I used to think there was _

_ Tell me that I'm cutthroat _

_ I think you got your eyes closed _

_ Feel the fear and swallow back the tears _

_ Let weakness disappear _

_ There's nobody but me here _

_ The killer in the mirror _

_ (Red) Killer in the,  _

_ (Mutt) killer in the,  _

_ (Edge) killer in the mirror _

_ (Red) Killer in the,  _

_ (Mutt) killer in the,  _

_ (Edge) killer in the mirror _

_ (Edge) Where did all of the good people go? _

_ They hide behind the bars on windows _

_ In hopes they can forget we're close _

_ (Edge/ Red) Trying to get some of what they've got _

_ (Edge) 'Cause I used to believe in justice _

_ A place where there was better judgment _

_ But now I'm feeling so disgusted _

_ (Edge/Red) By the "have its" and the "have nots" _

_ (Mutt) Get back, put your hands up, kinda messed up, but it's tough luck _

_ And I'm sorry, but I don't feel bad for you _

_ 'Cause I know if you could switch this, you'd be dishing out the same shit _

_ Saying sorry, but I don't feel bad _

_ (Edge) Now I know there's no one I can trust _

_ I used to think there was _

_ Tell me that I'm cutthroat _

_ I think you got your eyes closed _

_ Feel the fear and swallow back the tears _

_ Let weakness disappear _

_ There's nobody but me here _

_ The killer in the mirror _

_ (Red) Killer in the,  _

_ (Mutt) killer in the,  _

_ (Edge) killer in the mirror _

_ (Red) Killer in the,  _

_ (Mutt) killer in the,  _

_ (Edge) killer in the mirror _

_ (Red/ Mutt) Knock 'em in the teeth now _

_ Never let you guard down _

_ Get some of what they've got _

_ "Have its" and the "have nots" _

_ (Edge/ Red/ Mutt) Knock 'em in the teeth now _

_ Never let you guard down _

_ When they step in your house _

_ Knock, knock, knock 'em all the fuck out _

_ (Edge) Now I know there's no one I can trust _

_ I used to think there was _

_ Tell me that I'm cutthroat _

_ I think you got your eyes closed _

_ Feel the fear and swallow back the tears _

_ Let weakness disappear _

_ There's nobody but me here _

_ The killer in the mirror _

_ (Red) Killer in the,  _

_ (Mutt) killer in the,  _

_ (Edge) killer in the mirror _

_ (Red) Killer in the,  _

_ (Mutt) killer in the,  _

_ (Edge) killer in the mirror _

_ (Edge) Feel the fear and swallow back the tears _

_ Let weakness disappear _

_ There's nobody but me here _

_ The killer in the mirror _

_ (Red) Killer in the,  _

_ (Mutt) killer in the,  _

_ (Edge) killer in the mirror _

_ (Red) Killer in the,  _

_ (Mutt) killer in the,  _

_ (Edge) killer in the mirror _

After he finished the first song, he addressed the crowd before the next one started. “You have been a wonderful audience so far! One last song before we take a short intermission, okay?” The crowd whined and complained, but Edge let out a chuckle. “Nyeh heh heh. I know, but we’ll need a moment to breathe. For now,” he paused as Paps cued up air raid sirens to play over the speakers. “How about I tell you how I’m ‘Indestructible’?” The crowd roared as the band launched into the song.

_ (Edge) Another mission _

_ The powers have called me away _

_ Another time _

_ To carry the colors again _

_ My motivation _

_ An oath I've sworn to defend _

_ To win the honor _

_ Of coming back home again _

_ No explanation _

_ Will matter after we begin _

_ Unlock the dark destroyer that's buried within _

_ My true vocation _

_ And now my unfortunate friend _

_ You will discover _

_ A war you're unable to win _

_ I'll have you know _

_ That I've become _

_ Indestructible _

_ Determination that is incorruptible _

_ From the other side _

_ A terror to behold _

_ Annihilation will be unavoidable _

_ Every broken enemy will know _

_ That their opponent had to be invincible _

_ Take a last look around while you're alive _

_ I'm an indestructible master of war _

_ Another reason _

_ Another cause for me to fight _

_ Another fuse uncovered _

_ Now, for me to light _

_ My dedication _

_ To all that I've sworn to protect _

_ I carry out my orders _

_ Without a regret _

_ A declaration _

_ Embedded deep under my skin _

_ A permanent reminder _

_ Of how we began _

_ No hesitation _

_ When I am commanding the strike _

_ You need to know _

_ That you're in for the fight of your life _

_ You will be shown _

_ How I've become _

_ Indestructible _

_ Determination that is incorruptible _

_ From the other side _

_ A terror to behold _

_ Annihilation will be unavoidable _

_ Every broken enemy will know _

_ That their opponent had to be invincible _

_ Take a last look around while you're alive _

_ I'm an indestructible master of war _

_ (Mutt) (Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh) _

_ (Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh) _

_ (Edge) I'm _

_ Indestructible _

_ Determination that is incorruptible _

_ From the other side _

_ A terror to behold _

_ Annihilation will be unavoidable _

_ Every broken enemy will know _

_ That their opponent had to be invincible _

_ Take a last look around while you're alive _

_ I'm an indestructible _

_ Indestructible _

_ Determination that is incorruptible _

_ From the other side _

_ A terror to behold _

_ Annihilation will be unavoidable _

_ Every broken enemy will know _

_ That their opponent had to be invincible _

_ Take a last look around while you're alive _

_ I'm an indestructible master of war _

_ (Mutt) (Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh) _

_ (Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh) _

When the song finished, you grabbed your drink and ducked outside for a smoke before the crowd could mob the bar. Taking a sip, you pulled out a cigarette and lit it, after you set your drink on the window ledge on the front of the building. Nodding politely to the few other people outside smoking, you pulled out your phone to make yourself look busy, hoping no one would talk to you. You sent a quick text to Red, letting him know you had stepped outside and leaned back against the wall to enjoy the quiet evening outside of the bar.

The quiet didn’t last long, however, as you heard two sets of footsteps approaching from around the side of the building. Being the nosy sonofabitch you were, you stepped closer to the corner to listen in, when you heard the unmistakable whining of Bitchtits Mcgee.

“I’m here. We’re alone. Now, what could you possibly want to talk about?”

“what’re you even doing here, keri?” a male voice asked. Peering around the corner just enough to see who was talking, your eyes widened in surprise.  _ Rus _ was standing there, less than ten feet from you, confronting his (maybe?) ex-girlfriend. You hid back around the corner, staring blankly at your phone as you focused in on the skeleton’s conversation.

“I came here with my girlfriends to see if you were going to man up enough to start apologizing!” the (ex)girlfriend scoffed.

“apologize for what?” Rus asked, sounding both confused and hurt.

“Whatever the fuck that was that you tried to pull during your so-called ‘heat’!” she snorted, throwing finger quotes around the word ‘heat’.

“you’re still upset about th-that? i thought you understood what h-happens when i go into s-sub heat.”

“Oh, and now your dumbass stutter is back too? Puh-lease. You told me you were going into heat, not whatever this ‘sub heat’ thing is. Don’t try to change the story now.”

“k-keri, p-please…”

“Don’t. I don’t know what I was even expecting from you. You’re just a  _ monster _ after all,” Bitchtits scoffed one last time as you heard her walk away.

Cautiously peeking around the corner after you crushed the butt of your finished cigarette under your boot, you saw Rus slide along the wall until he was sitting on the ground, looking like he had just been slapped across the face. Grabbing your drink, you shoved your phone in the back pocket of your jeans and slowly made your way over to the shell-shocked skeleton.

“Uh hey, is this seat taken?” you asked him with a friendly smile as you gestured to the ground beside him.

Rus looked up at you, startled by the sound of your voice. Wordlessly, he shrugged and gestured for you to sit down before he tugged the hood of his sleeveless orange shirt further over his head.

Lowering yourself down on the ground, you pulled one leg up to your chest. Keeping your voice soft, well as best as you could with how much alcohol you’d had so far, you introduced yourself to the lanky skeleton, who had shifted so that both of his long legs were pulled up to his chest as he wrapped his arms around them, hiding his face in his knees.

“You’re Rus, right?” you started, getting a small nod from the clearly upset skelly next to you. “I’m ___. I work with Red, Mutt, and Blue.”

Rus lifted his head enough to peer over at you with one eye socket, recognition on his face before he spoke softly. “y-you’re the l-laser l-lady th-then?” he asked, flinching when he stuttered.

“Yep, that’s me!” You smiled brightly. “So… that was, uh, your girlfriend?”

“ex,” Rus said bitterly, tears welling up in his eye sockets.

“Oh, honey,” you said soothingly, carefully placing a hand on his shoulder when he buried his face in his knees again. You felt him shaking as he started to cry in earnest, and your heart broke for the poor skeleton. You gently rubbed his back, trying to comfort him. “You know, Bitchtits Mcgee really seems like she’s just a racist, toxic, twatwaffle, that wouldn’t know a good person if they bit her on the nose.” You shrugged with a smile.  _ Pretty sure I mixed up the sayings… I blame the booze… _

Rus let out a startled laugh, sniffling as he raised his head to look up at you. “wh-what did you c-call her?”

“ ‘Bitchtits Mcgee?’ Or ‘racist, toxic, twatwaffle’?”

“th-the first one,” he snorted, rubbing his eye sockets as the tears slowed to a stop. “where’d th-that come from?”

“Oh, that,” you shrugged, feeling your phone go off, but you ignored it for the moment. “I overheard her and her bitch-clique talking inside and just started calling her that in my head.”

“heh… it’s pr-pretty  _ humerus _ if y-you ask me,” Rus chuckled as you lit up at the pun.

“No  _ fibula _ ,” you smiled, happy to have found another punny skeleton. “You know what always makes me feel better?” You asked him with a smirk.

“wh-what?”

“Magic Blue Drink!” You held up your cup, proudly showing off the bright blue cocktail.

“m-magic blue drink?” Rus raised a brow bone at you from under his hood. Gingerly, he took the cup from you and held it up to his nasal cavity to sniff at it cautiously, before taking a sip.

“Hehe,” you giggled, “it’s a bit on the sweet side, which isn’t everyone’s  _ cup of tea _ , I know, but - Hey!” You cut yourself off as Rus downed the entire drink in one go. “That’s, uh, that’s a pretty strong drink that you just downed...” you said nervously as Rus licked his teeth. Your drink had still been like three quarters full and he had just knocked it back like it was nothing. “You gonna be okay there?”

“heh, yeah. i-i’ll be okay. y-you were r-right though, ___, your ‘magic blue drink’ did make me f-feel better,” Rus smiled at you, a soft orange glow appearing on his face as the alcohol hit him almost instantly.

“My drink…” you pouted as he handed you the empty cup back.

“heh, s-sorry…” Rus said with a sheepish smile. “i’ll buy you a new one. you sticking around after the show?”

“That was the plan, unless - oh hold on a sec, someone’s calling me...” you pulled out your phone to see who was calling, and your eyebrows shot up when you saw the name ‘Red Alert’ on your screen. “Red? What’s up?” you asked, sending a confused look to Rus, who just unhelpfully shrugged.

“oh, doll, good. have ya seen honeybun anywhere? he’s missin’ ‘nd mutt saw keri-”

“Red,” you tried to interrupt. 

“- ‘nd her bratpack hangin’ out in th’ bar. then black ‘nd blue said they’d seen th’ queen bee ‘nd th’ honeybun head outside-”

“Red!” you tried again, sending Rus another look, since you had put your phone on speaker and he was just sitting there shaking with silent laughter.

“-t’gether. we can’t find him anywhere, ‘nd mutt jes’ saw keri come back in alone and-”

“HOLY FUCKING SHIT, RED!” you roared into the phone, finally getting the skeleton’s attention. “Jesus Christ, shut up for a second, yeah?”

“heh. sorry, doll.”

“Yes.”

“yes, wha’?”

“I have seen Rus,” you rolled your eyes, causing Rus to laugh harder.

“ya have? where?” You heard Red tell someone that he had an idea where Rus was and to follow him.

“Out the front door of the bar, in the little alley next to the building,” answered after you had pulled out a cigarette and lit it up before offering one to the tall skelly next to you which he accepted.

“holy shit, yer a lifesaver, doll, thanks, uh talk ta ya later,” Red said quickly before ending the call.

“Uh, bye?” you looked at your phone in confusion until Rus caught your attention by holding up three fingers and slowly counting down. 

At ‘zero’ he held his hand out in a ‘ta-da’ position as two ‘pops’ were heard echoing in the alley as Red and Mutt suddenly appeared before you.

Blinking as you stared at the new arrivals, you blurted out, “holy fuck… you  _ both _ can teleport?”

Rus chuckled from beside you, “we call ‘em ‘shortcuts’.”

“ _ You too _ ?” you groaned as Red and Mutt stepped closer to the two of you, Mutt immediately starting to fuss over Rus.

“are ya hurt? she didn’t do anythin’ to ya, right honey?” Mutt asked quickly, studying Rus’ face, tilting his head by the chin, this way and that.

“m’fine, mutt. officially broke up with ke- what was it you called her again?” Rus asked looking over to you as he pushed Mutt off of him.

“Bitchtits Mcgee.”

Red let out a relieved laugh as he stepped closer to you. “seems pretty appropriate ta me.”

“thanks for takin’ care of him, darlin’,” Mutt smiled at you as he pulled Rus to his feet, while Red did the same for you.

You blinked a couple of times to clear your head of the not so PG thoughts of getting in the middle of the two tallest skele-sins.  _ No! Stop! Red light! _ You mentally slapped yourself. “Uh, no problem, Mutt, Red. It’s just kinda what I do...” you said, moving to take a sip of your drink, only to remember that it was empty at the last moment. Pouting at the empty cup, you looked up when the three skeletons started laughing.

“c’mon, doll. finish yer cig ‘nd we’ll get ya a new drink.”

“and  _ we’ll _ head back to the others,” Mutt said, stealing a drag off of the cigarette Rus was finishing up. “don’t take forever,” Mutt added, dragging Rus along with him.

“see you later, ___,” Rus waved, rolling his eyes as he let Mutt pull him away.

“so what’re ya drinkin’ doll?” Red asked as the two of you walked back into the bar.

“Magic Blue Drink.”

“uh-huh… ‘nd th’ bartender knows wha’ tha’ is?” Red raised a brow bone skeptically.

“Yep!” you chirped, smiling at the edgy skelly as you grabbed onto his arm. “Is Rus gonna be okay? Cuz lemme tell you, I was  _ this _ close to slappin’ a bitch.”

“heh, m’sure doll. let’s get ya another drink ‘nd ya can go sit wit’ black, blue, ‘nd classic fer th’ rest of th’ show, ‘kay?” Red patted your hand that was wrapped around his arm, a faint red blush appearing on his face.

After you acquired a new cup of Magic Blue Drink from the bar, Red led you over to a table to a table pretty close to the stage. The other members of the band were there, along with Blue and two other skeletons you didn’t recognize.

“Hello human ___!” Blue greeted as you walked up with Red.

“Hi Blue!” you set your drink down on the table and went to hug the ball of energy.

“Glad to see you made it!” Blue said as you were released from the hug, only to be swept up into another bone-crushing hug by Paps, as Blue introduced the others at the table. “This is Black,” he said gesturing towards the skeleton on his right, who was wearing all black with a “Security” tee with the bar’s logo on it and a royal purple scarf around his neck. “And this is Sans,” Blue waved towards the skeleton on his left, who was wearing a blue hoodie over a white tee and track shorts.

“sup,” Sans waved.

“Hi guys! I’m ___, and I work with Blue, Red and Mutt.”

“Ah, the infamous Laser Lady,” Edge said, studying you with an appraising look.

Turning to Red, you moved to elbow him in the side as you grumbled, “Geez, is that how you really introduced me to everyone?”

“heh, yea doll,” Red laughed as he danced out of your reach.

“heya darlin’,” Mutt said as he wrapped his arms around you from behind. “ya gonna get ‘fresh’ with me later?”

“Hello Mutt,” you deadpanned. “I’ll get up on stage with you, sure, but nothing more than that, since we’re in public and that’s kind of a turn off for me. But you do you, Mutt.” You walked out of his slackened grip and headed towards where Red was leaning against Edge, wheezing with laughter. Turning back to look at Mutt, you smirked and sent him a wink as he stood there slack jawed. “Oops…” you giggled as you leaned on Red. “I broke another skeleman, Bones.”

“Impressive,” Black finally spoke up. “It is rare to find someone who can render my brother speechless,” he said with a nod of approval in your direction.

You smiled at Black and went to grab your drink. Grabbing at empty air, your eyes darted around until you spotted the orange clad skeleton trying to hide behind Paps, who was now standing on the other side of Edge. Spying the bright blue drink in his hand, you moved over to Rus and whined at him. “Ruuuuuusss, nooooooo! Miiiiine!” You made grabby hands at the cup as Rus smiled and held it up above your reach.

“honeybun, give doll her drink back,” Red huffed in amusement. “we gotta head back up now.”

“Fine…“ Rus smirked as he handed you back the Magic Blue Drink after stealing another sip. “thanks, hun, your drink really worked its  _ magic _ ,” he said with a wink.

“I, uh, yeah…” you stuttered as Red sat you down at the table with Sans, Blue and Black.

“keep an eye socket on her, yeah?” Red asked the others, with a hand on your shoulder. “i’ll see ya on stage when mutt pulls ya up there, ‘kay doll?”

Leaning back so your head was on his chest, you looked up at him and smiled. “After like, two more of these, since Rus stole my last one,” you said as you held up the Blue LI Tea, and batted your eyelashes at the skeleton.

“uh, sure doll, Black, Blue ‘nd Classic’ll take care o’ ya. i gotta get on stage,” Red said, quickly stepping away as he started to get flustered. He sent you a wink as he joined the others on stage as they got ready to start the second half of the show.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy crap.... this took a long time to type up... >_< but its finally time for the show! The second half of the show will be out soon. I had to break this up so I could at least post something...  
> Enjoy!  
> 


	5. Dress Sharp, Act Natural, And You Won't Fall Flat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The second half of Forgotten Underground's show! You maaaaaay have had a bit too much to drink.... Bah! Who needs filters anyways?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Songs in this Chapter:  
> \------------------------------------  
> Riot by Three Days Grace  
> Bad Guy by Set It Off  
> Sarcasm by Get Scared  
> This Moment by Disturbed  
> Hypnotized by Set It Off  
> Fresh by Artist Vs Poet

The boys all settled behind their instruments up on stage as Mutt stepped up to the microphone.

“alright, thanks for lettin’ us take a breather, but now we’re ready to continue. are y’all ready?” Mutt asked the crowd, drawing them all back in as they cheered. “well, let’s get this party started, shall we? let’s start a ‘riot’,” he smirked as he gave the cue for Red and Edge to start playing.

_(Mutt) If you feel, so empty_

_So used up, so let down_

_If you feel, so angry_

_So ripped off, so stepped on_

_You're not the, only one_

_Refusing, to back down_

_You're not, the only one_

_So get up_

_(Mutt/ Red) Let's start a riot, a riot_

_Let's start a riot_

_Let's start a riot, a riot_

_Let's start a riot_

_(Mutt) If you feel, so filthy_

_So dirty, so fucked up_

_If you feel, so walked on_

_So painful, so pissed off_

_You're not, the only one_

_Refusing, to go down_

_You're not the only one_

_So get up_

_(Mutt/ Red) Let's start a riot, a riot_

_Let's start a riot_

_Let's start a riot, a riot_

_Let's start a riot_

_(Mutt) If you feel, so empty_

_So used up, so let down_

_If you feel, so angry_

_Just get up_

_(Mutt) Let's start a riot, a riot_

_Let's start a riot_

_(Mutt/ Red) Let's start a riot, a riot_

_Let's start a riot_

_Let's start a riot, a riot_

_Let's start a riot_

_Let's start a riot, a riot_

_Let's start a riot_

_Let's start a riot, a riot_

_Let's start a riot_

When the song was done, Mutt stepped away and grabbed his bass guitar as Rus stepped up. Letting out a nervous chuckle, he leaned into the mic to introduce his song.

“ _tibia_ -nest, i wasn’t sure if i was even gonna sing anything tonight,” he started, his eyelights seeking you out in the crowd. You held up your drink as you sent him a thumbs up and he continued. “heh, with a little _liquid encouragement_ i’ve come to a realization. i’m not the ‘bad guy’, so lemme tell you about it.”

Paps and Red played the opening notes as Rus took the mic off the stand and started to sing. You quickly looked around the bar to find Bitchtits Mcgee a.k.a. Keri, and sent a triumphant smirk in her direction before you turned back to the stage to focus on your boys.

_(Rus) I spend the night, yeah, doing ninety in a sixty five_

_Ignore the lights 'til I'm by your side_

_Because when you take this out on me my knees get weak_

_With that heart of kryptonite_

_(Rus) I stole the moon_

_I made the stars align_

_And I showed you how to fly_

_And you made me the bad guy_

_(Rus) You paint the scene with the colors of an enemy_

_All over me, and for your friends to see_

_I took just one misstep and now I'm hanging by my feet_

_Out of sight and out of reach_

_(Rus) I stole the moon_

_I made the stars align_

_I showed you how to fly_

_And you made me the bad guy_

_(Rus) I fought for you_

_I kept you safe at night_

_I would have risked my life_

_And you made me the bad guy_

_(Mutt) (One, two, three, four!)_

_(Rus) You made me the bad guy_

_You made me the bad guy_

_Yeah, you made me the bad guy_

_(Rus) Guess I forgot, guess I forgot_

_History repeats_

_Once lost and found, once lost and found,_

_We're too blind to see_

_Just show me how, just show me how the villain is me_

_(Rus) And I stole the moon_

_I made the stars align_

_I showed you how to fly_

_And you made me the bad guy_

_(Rus) When I fought for you_

_I kept you safe at night_

_I would have risked my life_

_And you made me the bad guy_

_You made me the bad guy_

_Now do they even know_

_You made me the bad guy_

_Ha, got it_

_You made me the bad guy_

The crowd roared as the song ended, you included as Rus caught your eyes and sent you a grateful smile.

“heh, thanks,” he said when the audience quieted down a bit. “i think i’ve got one more in me, if you can handle my ’sarcasm’.”

Edge rolled his eyelights before he leaned in to speak as the song started. Rus sent you a wink when he started singing, with Red and Mutt joining in as their fingers continued to fly over the strings of their instruments.

_(Edge) (And it is from this world of darkness which come the evil, destructive forces of man’s nature.)_

_(Rus) You've got me shaking from the way you're talking_

_My heart is breaking but there's no use crying_

_(Rus) What a cyanide surprise you have left for my eyes_

_If I had common sense I'd cut myself or curl up and die_

_(Mutt) Sticks and stones could break my bones_

_But anything you say will only fuel my lungs_

_(Rus) Don't mind us we're just spilling our guts_

_If this is love I don't wanna be loved_

_You pollute the room with a filthy tongue_

_Watch me choke it down so I can throw it up._

_(Rus) Don't mind us we're just spilling our guts_

_If this is love I don't wanna be hanging by the neck_

_Before an audience of death._

_(Red) You could be the corpse and I could be the killer_

_(Mutt) If I could be the devil, you could be the sinner_

_(Rus) You could be the drugs and I could be the dealer_

_Everything you say is like music to my ears_

_(Red) You could be the corpse and I could be the killer_

_(Mutt) If I could be the devil, you could be the sinner_

_(Rus) You could be the drugs and I could be the dealer_

_Everything you say is like music to my, music to my ears_

_(Rus) Don't mind us we're just spilling our guts_

_If this is love I don't wanna be loved_

_You pollute the room with a filthy tongue_

_Watch me choke it down so I can throw it up._

_(Rus) Don't mind us we're just spilling our guts_

_If this is love I don't wanna be hanging by the neck_

_Before an audience of death_

_(Mutt) (Before an audience)_

_(Rus/Mutt) Failure find me_

_To tie me up now_

_'Cause I'm as bad, as bad as it gets_

_(Rus) Failure find me_

_To hang me up now_

_By my neck cause I'm a fate worse than death_

_(Rus) What a cyanide surprise you have left for my eyes_

_If I had common sense I'd cut myself or curl up and die_

_(Rus/ Mutt/ Red) Don't mind us we're just spilling our guts_

_If this is love I don't wanna be loved_

_You pollute the room with a filthy tongue_

_Watch me choke it down so I can throw it up_

_(Rus/ Mutt/ Red) Don't mind us we're just spilling our guts_

_If this is love I don't wanna be hanging by the neck_

_(Rus) Before an audience_

_(Rus/ Mutt/ Red) Don't mind us we're just spilling our guts_

_If this is love I don't wanna be loved_

_(Rus) You pollute the room with a filthy tongue_

_Watch me choke it down so I can_

_(Rus/ Mutt/ Red) Don't mind us we're just spilling our guts_

_If this is love I don't wanna be hanging by the neck_

_Before an audience of death_

_(Mutt) (Fuck you all!)_

When the song was over, and the crowd had died down again, the boys shuffled their positions on stage for the next song, and out of the corner of your eye, you spotted Bitchtits Mcgee angrily storming out of the bar, closely followed by her bratpack. You finished off your drink in silent celebration before you turned to Sans, sending him your puppy dog eyes as you shook your empty cup so the ice clinked around.

“geez, kid, you drink like a fish,” he said as he tried to ignore the eyes.

“Then _cod_ you be a _reel_ pal, and go get me another one? C’mon, don’t leave me _flounder_ ing here,” you smiled sweetly at the skeleton as Blue and Black let out twin groans.

“hey now, don’t go throwing around _bass_ less accusations there, kid,” Sans laughed at your puns as he stood to go get you another drink. “ ‘magic blue drink’, yeah?”

“Yup! Thanks, Sans!” you chirped happily as he walked away. Turning to the other two skeletons left at the table, you smirked, causing two pairs of eye sockets to narrow at you simultaneously. “Hehehe, you could say he fell for that…”

“___, no!”

“ _Hook, line and sinker!_ ” you giggled.

Blue let out another groan and shook his head, while Black rolled his eyelights at you. “I take back what I said before,” Black scoffed. “You are a perfect match for my brother and the rest of those good-for-nothing lazybones.”

“Aww, Black, are you sure you don’t ever get _bonely_ up on that high horse of yours?” You asked playfully as Sans returned with your drink, along with refills for the rest of the table.

Black let out a snort. “Please, Blue is more than enough to keep me warm at night.” Smirking as Blue flushed before leaning over to whisper something to him, Black raised a brow bone at you before speaking again. “Perhaps you’re right, Blue. Maybe a few nights with us _could_ help with those insufferable puns…”

You choked as you tried to take a sip of your Magic Blue Drink while glancing over to Black and Blue and seeing twin leers aimed at you. Sans reached across the table to pat you on the back as you looked to him for help.

“sorry, kid,” he shrugged with a lazy grin. “i ain’t getting in the middle of _that_ again,” he said, lazily gesturing towards the leering skeletons.

“Sit and spin on a cactus, Classic,” you flipped him off after you had stopped choking. “Red said you’d take care of meeee…” you whined.

Sans let out a snort as he held up his hands in surrender. “i got you your drink, kid. i’m too lazy to do much more than that.”

Blue let out a somewhat evil chuckle, and your eyes snapped to him warily. “Mweh heh heh. ___, eyes on the stage now. They’re ready to start the next song,” he purred.

You followed Blue’s instructions, your eyes darting back to the two skeletons a few times before Edge started singing and captured your full attention.

_(Edge) Ba-de-ya-ta! Ba-de-ya-ta!_

_(Edge) You will remember this moment_

_As you dig into me_

_And from your smile now_

_It seems as if you liked it_

_You'd better cherish this moment_

_As you dig into me_

_You'll never get another chance_

_At this_

_(Edge) Ba-de-ya-ta!_

_(Edge) I won't stand another minute_

_Of your questioning me_

_You hear me, bitch, stop_

_The interrogation's over_

_I can't handle the feeling_

_Of your pestering me_

_How would you like_

_To meet my favorite fist_

_(Edge) Ba-de-ya-ta!_

_(Edge) Now you can't renege_

_I'd love to see you beg_

_(Edge) Dream this moment as you run away_

_You would only separate me from what I believe_

_This moment in brutality_

_You're the one who kept on pushing_

_'Til I made you bleed_

_(Edge) It seems your pride has been stolen_

_Since you stood up to me_

_I'll tell you now you know_

_I think I really like it_

_So learn a lesson from someone_

_Who will never repeat_

_The many tragic mistakes of his past_

_(Edge) Ba-de-ya-ta!_

_(Edge) I hope you savor this moment_

_As you're still on your feet_

_So keep it quiet now_

_I think you're gonna like it_

_Words have their consequences_

_When they're spoken to me_

_Better be careful_

_When you're writing checks_

_(Edge) Ba-de-ya-ta!_

_(Edge) Don't you question how_

_I stand above you now_

_(Edge) Dream this moment as you run away_

_You would only separate me from what I believe_

_This moment in brutality_

_You're the one who kept on pushing_

_'Til I made you bleed_

_(Edge) Ba-de-ya-ta! Ba-de-ya-ta!_

_(Edge) Now you know the answer_

_Save yourself from danger_

_I cannot forget_

_How all of this began_

_(Edge) I know you know the answer_

_Save yourself from danger_

_Beaten by a stranger_

_Blood still on his hands_

_(Edge) Dream this moment as you run away_

_You would only separate me from what I believe_

_This moment in brutality_

_You're the one who kept on pushing_

_'Til I made you bleed_

_(Edge) Ba-de-ya-ta! Ba-de-ya-ta!_

_(Edge) Ba-de-ya-ta! Ba-de-ya-ta!_

Red and Edge switched places again after Edge’s song, Edge reclaiming his seat behind the drums as Red grabbed the mic.

“this next one’s gonna be a bit different from what i usually do,” Red told the crowd after they settled down. “rus wrote this one recently ‘nd this’ll be th’ first time we’re performin’ it.” Red caught your eye and gave you a smile as the music started.

_(Red) Time to pack your bags,_

_No more looking back,_

_So quit your cryin'_

_I know, you know you're guilty,_

_Guess you must have,_

_Had me in a trance_

_And now you've lost your chance,_

_So just quit tryin'_

_I know, you know you're guilty,_

_Guess you must have had me hypnotized_

_(Red) Listen carefully,_

_(Mutt) (Shhh)_

_(Red) I know it's hard for you,_

_(Mutt) (I know)_

_(Red) You're not quite used to vulgarity_

_And verbal abuse,_

_(Mutt) (Get ready)_

_(Red) Well first off fuck you and what you represent,_

_Tryna take the money you didn't earn,_

_You won't see a fucking cent_

_I'm sorry, did I just make you feel upset?_

_Wanna add a habit and light about 30 cigarettes?_

_(Mutt) (You should)_

_(Red) You're only mad about the fact that I put a light to you,_

_Basically tracing paper_

_When all we see is right through you!_

_Who doesn't love analogies with a couple meanings,_

_Especially when it makes a prick like you start steaming,_

_I can tell you're not quite gettin' what I said before,_

_What I mean by tracing paper's_

_That you're see-through and disposable_

_Goodbye_

_(Red) Time to pack your bags,_

_No more looking back,_

_So quit your cryin'_

_I know, you know you're guilty,_

_Guess you must have,_

_Had me in a trance,_

_And now you've lost your chance,_

_So just quit tryin'_

_I know, you know you're guilty,_

_Guess you must have had me hypnotized_

_(Mutt) Oh no no_

_(Red) You had me hypnotized_

_(Mutt) Oh no no_

_(Red) You had me hypno..._

_(Red) I heard you been lyin' and tryin' to shit on my name talkin' behind my back,_

_You should never expect the best to rest instead you're spewin' that bullshit!_

_Come on, you're not adept in honesty,_

_(Mutt) (nope)_

_(Red) And honestly, I see you've never delivered apologies_

_It's always: "Because of them or because of a thing that happened"_

_What do you wanna receive for fucking it up all the time? A fucking statue?_

_(Mutt) (Congrats)_

_(Red) I'll call it, hmm "Ode to Mr. Miserable"_

_Call me harsh for throwin' darts and aimin' for your hollow temples_

_Oh me? Yeah he died and it's no more nice guy season_

_Cause now he's heated and it's..._

_(Red) Time to pack your bags,_

_No more looking back,_

_So quit your cryin'_

_I know, you know you're guilty,_

_Guess you must have,_

_Had me in a trance,_

_And now you've lost your chance,_

_So just quit tryin'_

_I know, you know you're guilty,_

_Guess you must have had me hypnotized_

_(Mutt) Oh no no_

_(Red) You had me hypnotized_

_(Mutt) Oh no no_

_(Red) You had me hypno..._

_(Red) It's so unnatural,_

_You're throwing dirt into the details,_

_A common criminal,_

_And now you're headed for the derail,_

_(Red) Liar, liar,_

_Cover up your tracks again,_

_We're all aboard and it's a scorcher,_

_Fire, fire,_

_Burnin' up your back,_

_Your sin's your torture_

_(Red) Time to pack your bags,_

_No more looking back,_

_So quit your cryin'_

_I know, you know you're guilty,_

_Guess you must have,_

_Had me in a trance,_

_And now you've lost your chance,_

_So just quit tryin'_

_I know, you know you're guilty,_

_Guess you must have had me hypnotized_

_(Mutt) Oh no no_

_(Red) You had me hypnotized_

_(Mutt) Oh no no_

_(Red) You had me hypno..._

_(Mutt) (You are way more than a headache at this point. Do us all a favor and go fuck yourself!)_

The bar erupted with cheers as Red stepped away from the mic to pick up his guitar as Rus blushed at the approval from the crowd. As Mutt set his guitar down to take Red’s spot, he raised a brow bone at you, silently asking if you were still okay with him pulling you up on stage.

Sending him a thumbs up as you drained the rest of your drink, you wondered exactly what he was planning for you.

“alright y’all, before we start our last song of the night,” Mutt paused as the crowd booed unhappily. “i know, i know, but maybe we’ll come back again if y’all want.” The crowd cheered in approval and Mutt continued with a smirk. “alright then. now as i was sayin’, before we start the next song, we’re gonna need some help,” he drawled as he hopped down off the stage. He walked around the bar, still holding the mic, pretending to be searching for someone until he came to a stop in front of your table. His eyelights locked on to you and he sent you a wink as he announced, “you’ll do, darlin’.”

Taking your hand, he pulled you to your feet. As he led you up to the stage, he whispered in your ear. “darlin’, just follow my lead. don’t worry too much, i’ve got you up there.” He squeezed your hand reassuringly as the two of you stopped center stage.

Speaking into the mic again, Mutt winked out at the audience. “let’s get ‘fresh’ in here, yeah?”

The crowd cheered as Edge started up the song, with a roll of his eyelights.

_(Mutt) Lying eyes and flashing lights_

_I think I've been here before_

_And you caught me by surprise_

_I said I'm taking you home_

Mutt winked at you as he dropped an arm around your shoulders. You rolled your eyes and playfully pushed away from him as you danced away in time to the music.

_(Mutt) Yeah you, girl I'm impressed, I wanna bet_

_And it's true, that I'm the best you never had_

Mutt followed you around the stage as you ‘hid’ behind Red and Rus and played a ‘cat and mouse’ game around the stage with the singer. Rus joined in singing the chorus and you found yourself blushing as you were ‘caught’ between the two of them, receiving twin winks from the tallest of the skellies.

_(Mutt/ Rus) Have you ever been around another man like me?_

_Gets down like me, that sounds like me_

_Have you ever met a mother fucker fresh like me?_

_Got you on your knees with your ripped jeans_

_You, are you ready for it? Are you ready for it?_

_You, take a shot, lemon drop, then we rock all night_

As the chorus ended, Mutt grabbed your hand and dragged you back to center stage. He pulled you close to him so that your hands were on his chest as he started the next verse.

_(Mutt) Now you've got your hands on me_

_I didn't tell you to stop_

You paused, but quickly smirked as you slid your hands down his front until they rested on his hips.

_(Mutt) Somewhere they shouldn't be_

You immediately tried to pull yours hands away from the skeleton, but Mutt caught your wrist with a smirk, keeping your hand where it was as he sung the next line before he released you.

_(Mutt) I didn't tell you to stop (heh heh…)_

He spun away from you as he continued to sing, Rus joining in for the chorus once again. The two of you danced around the stage as the song went on, with you dancing up to each of the others in the band as Mutt finished out the song.

_(Mutt) Yeah you, girl I'm impressed, I wanna bet_

_And it's true, that I'm the best you never had_

_(Mutt/ Rus) Have you ever been around another man like me?_

_Gets down like me, that sounds like me_

_Have you ever met a mother fucker fresh like me?_

_Got you on your knees with your ripped jeans_

_(Mutt) You, are you ready for it? Are you ready for it?_

_You, take a shot, lemon drop, then we rock all night_

_Then we rock all night_

_Then we rock all night_

_Then we rock all night, yeah, yeah, yeah_

_(Mutt/ Rus) Have you ever been around another man like me?_

_Gets down like me, that sounds like me_

_Have you ever met a mother fucker fresh like me?_

_Got you on your knees with your ripped jeans_

_(Mutt) You, are you ready for it? Are you ready for it?_

_You, take a shot, lemon drop, then we rock all night_

_(Mutt/ Rus) Have you ever been around another man like me?_

_Gets down like me, that sounds like me_

_Have you ever met a mother fucker fresh like me?_

_Got you on your knees with your ripped jeans_

_(Mutt) You, are you ready for it? Are you ready for it?_

_You, take a shot, lemon drop, then we rock all night_

As Mutt sang the last line, he wrapped his arm not holding the mic around you, and pulled you flush up against him. He pressed his teeth to your cheek in a skelekiss before he released you.

You were in a daze as he said goodnight to the audience. Somehow, you ended up back at the table with the three shortest skeletons of the group, with another Magic Blue Drink in front of you. Eventually, you snapped out of your daze and made your way up to the bar to ask for a cup of ice water. Sans raised a brow bone at you when you returned with a wicked smirk on your face, and the four of you waited while the band packed up all of their instruments and other equipment.

The crowd thinned somewhat after Forgotten Underground had wrapped up their set, but a fair amount of people hung around to continue partying on their Friday nights. When everything had been broken down and packed away into their vehicles, the five skeletons that made up the band walked up to the table after getting their own drinks from the bar.

“heya doll,” Red said, sliding up behind you, casually wrapping his arm around your waist. “wha’dya think?”

“Hi Red! This was so awesome!” you squealed, throwing your arms around his shoulders. “Thanks so much for inviting me out!”

“uh, heh, yea, n-no problem,” Red stammered, turning bright as his namesake, but not letting go of you. “uh, h-how many o’ yer ‘magic blue drinks’ have you had, doll?”

“that’s the third since you left her here,” Sans answered for you, chuckling when you stuck out your tongue at him.

“ya wanna step out fer some air, doll?” Red asked while raising a brow bone at you.

“In a minute,” you said, unwrapping yourself from the short edgy skelly. “I’ve got something for Mutt first…” you smirked evilly as you grabbed the cup of ice water off the table and hid it behind your back.

“doll?” Red asked with a growing amount of concern.

Walking up to the skeleton in question, you tapped him on the shoulder. “Mutt,” you growled at the tall skeleton.

“sup, darlin’?” he asked as he turned around to face you, leaning down when you gestured as though you wanted to say something privately to him. 

With another smirk, you purred to him, “It’s not a _spray bottle_ , but I’m not too picky…”

“what’re you talkin’ abo-” Mutt was cut off by his spluttering as you dumped the frigid cup of water over his skull. 

Yanking him even closer by his collar, you put your face right next to his and you growled, “ _bad dog_!” before releasing him to smile and wave at Paps and Edge, whom he had been talking to before you interrupted. Paps sighed at you and Mutt while Edge smirked approvingly as you walked back over to Red.

Still clutching his sides from laughing so hard at your little stunt, he asked, “ya, heh heh, wanna, pfft, go outside now, doll?”

“Yeah,” you nodded, before spotting Rus trying to steal your drink again. Hissing and swatting at his hand like a cat, you rescued your cup from the wannabe booze thief. “Rus! Get your own!” you pouted at the shy skelly as he smirked at you. “And get me another since you stole mine earlier.”

“okay,” Rus shrugged. He headed to the bar after he added, “i’ll meet you guys outside.”

“sure thin’ honeybun,” Red said as he led you out of the bar. As you drunkenly fumbled with your cigarettes, Red gently took the pack and your lighter from you and lit two cigarettes, handing one of them to you. “here, doll.”

“Thanks, Bones,” you blushed as you took the lit smoke from him. “I had a lot of fun tonight, Red,” you smiled as you took a drag off the cig.

“m’glad,” Red nodded. “but tha’ jes means t’morrow’s gonna hafta be mindblowin’ ta top this,” he added with a wink.

“what’s happening tomorrow?” Rus asked, walking up to the two of you and setting the drinks in his hands down on the window ledge, before lighting his own cigarette. 

Red blew out a cloud of smoke from the cig he had stolen from you. “me ‘nd doll here ‘re going out t’morrow night.”

“Yeah! We have our date!” you giggled, the alcohol in your system making you way more giddy and giggly than normal.

“oh, cool,” Rus smiled. “m’happy for the two of you. you seem way better than ‘bitchtits mcgee’, hun.”

“Aww, Rus! You’re making me blush!” you said, going over to hug the tall skelly. When you released him and moved so you were sitting on the ground, Rus passed you your new drink, taking your empty cup as both he and Red sat down next to you, with your shoulders touching.

“hey, honeybun,” Red spoke up after the three of you had been sitting there for a few minutes in silence, just enjoying each other’s company.

“yeah?”

“ya gonna be okay after wha’ went down wit’ keri?”

“yeah. ___, helped out a bunch. hey, hun, do you mind if i get your number? i like talking with you.”

“Sure! Red? Can you give it to him? I don’t wanna mess up the number,” you fluttered your eyelashes at the shorter skeleton as you let more of your weight rest against him.

“sure, doll,” Red chuckled as he pulled out his phone to send Rus your number.

“I think Black and Blue propositioned me…” you blurted out suddenly, causing both of your smoking buddies to choke.

“e-excuse me?” Rus stuttered.

“wha’dya mean doll?” Red looked at you questioningly.

“I punned at them,” you said with a shrug as though that explained everything perfectly.

Rus stood up suddenly, tossing his finished cig away. He was bright orange as he spoke, refusing to look at you. “i-i’m gonna go ch-chat with m-my bro for a s-sec… see y-you inside,” he said quickly, stepping through a shortcut, rather than walking through the front door.

“He’s _adorable_ ,” you sighed, resting your head on Red’s shoulder.

“yep,” Red agreed half-heartedly. “wha’dya tell black ‘nd blue?”

“I uh, kinda _blue screened_ …” you giggled. “Didn’t end up telling them anything… Don’t know if I’d say no thought…”

“oh?”

“Yeah, I’ve always said I should start a harem. My tastes are generally way too varied for one single person to satisfy completely,” you said nonchalantly, the alcohol having long since shut off your filters. 

“okay, doll, time ta go back inside,” Red said stiffly, red drops of sweat beading on his skull as he blushed.

“Aww, wassamatter Bones?” you purred to him. “Am I making you a little _hot under the collar?_ ”

“uh, heh… doll, th-this is jes th’ b-booze talkin’ r-right?” Red stammered as he helped you to your feet and the two of you started heading towards the door.

“Nope! I really _do_ wanna start a harem,” you smiled brightly. “Don’t worry, Red. You can be the first!”

“heh heh, c’mon doll. let’s jes get through t’night and make it through one date first, ‘kay?” Red shifted, clearly flustered by your not-so-subtle flirting.

“Fiiiine,” you sighed as the two of you walked back into ‘Elsewhere’ and headed over to the rest of the group.

As the two of you rejoined the others, you took in the scene in front of you before you sat down. Rus was currently trying to hide in his hood as he was talking with Blue, while Black threw in a comment here and there with a smirk. Mutt was chatting with Paps and Edge about the show, his wet shirt clinging to his ribs, while Sans chimed in with his input about the audio once in a while.

You followed Red to the table where you sat down next to Rus who immediately stole your drink and took a large gulp. Red sat down on your other side as you made a face at Rus, but let him steal your drink anyway.

“So, ___!” Paps said as he sat down across the table. “How did you like the show?”

“Oh my gods, Paps!” you beamed. “I had such a good time!”

“Splendid!” Paps grinned back just as brightly. “You seemed to enjoy yourself up on stage with Mutt,” he added, waggling his brow bones at you suggestively.

You snorted out a laugh. _Oh my gods… How and why did all of these sexy skellies escape out of my closet?_

“d-doll?” you heard Red choke on his drink next to you.

“Yes?” You turned to the bright red skeleton. _Man he’s adorable when he’s all flustered like that!_

Red let out another choked off sound. You looked around the table for help, only to be greeted by all the other skeletons glowing in various shades of orange, blue, purple and red.

“Uh… guys?”

Surprisingly, Rus was the first one to recover enough to answer you. “nyeh heh heh, y-you, uh, w-were talking out l-loud, hun…”

“Oh, shit…” you said before burying your face in your arms on the table. “Stupid Magic Blue Drinks… Stupid booze shutting off my filters… Stupid sexy skeletons…” you grumbled to the table.

“Well, if _that_ is truly how you feel,” Black said after clearing his throat, a faint violet blush still dusting his cheekbones, “then we should _all_ have your number, in case you feel the need to… _act_ on your feelings.”

Lifting your head just enough to level Black with a glare, your gaze drifted over to Rus who was still sipping from your drink. “Rus? Can you just send my number to them? I don’t even wanna try to work my phone right now.”

“s-sure thing, hun.” Rus grinned, sending your number to the others as he patted your back sympathetically.

“How are you intending on getting home?” Edge spoke up, ever the practical one, as he raised a brow bone at you.

“I was just gonna leave my car here and walk. Mutt made me drink too much… stupid anxiety,” you mumbled. 

“i did what now, darlin’?” Mutt asked, draping himself across your back, making you jump as his cold wet shirt hit your bare shoulders, and eliciting an unhappy growl from Red.

“So you drove here originally, ___?” Edge’s voice cut through the rest of the chatter.

“Yeah, but my house is like ten minutes away by car, so like forty-five minutes by foot at most,” you shrugged as best you could with Mutt still on top of you.

“That is of course assuming you were sober,” Black chimed in.

“doll, me ‘nd edge can get ya ‘nd yer car home.”

“But, no one but me has driven my car!” you whined, not liking the idea of anyone else driving your car. “I might be loose with my affections, but my car isn’t a cheap whore that anyone can take for a ride!”

“___. It would be for a mere ten minutes if your estimation is correct,” Edge pointed out, not about to take your drunken whining seriously. “I can drive your car and once you are safely back home, Red can shortcut us both back here to retrieve my car.”

“Fiiiiiinnnnnneeee…” you sighed dramatically. “If that the plan then I want two things first.” You held up two fingers for emphasis, with a damp Mutt still on top of you. “Actually three,” you said, adding another finger after a moment of thought. When everyone’s eyelights were focused on you, you continued. “One, since I’m _definitely_ not driving, I want another drink, since somebody, _Rus_ , keeps stealing mine. Two, somebody get Mutt the hell off of me. For a bag of bones, you’re really starting to _weigh me down_.” You struggled to sit up properly, until Black cleared his throat and glared at his brother, and Mutt finally peeled himself off of you and sat down between Edge and Black with a huff. 

“And thirdly?” Edge asked, clearly amused by your ‘demands’.

Pointing at Edge dramatically, you declared, “In exchange for handing over my keys, I wanna wear your scarf!”

“P-Pardon?” Edge spluttered incredulously while Red barked out a laugh.

“Pleeeeeaaase?” You tried your puppy dog eyes on the Edgelord. At first it seemed like he was going to be able to resist, but right as you were about to give up, Edge let out a sigh as he stood up and moved behind you.

Leaning over to speak right into you ear, Edge hissed, “If anything happens to it, I will take great _pleasure_ in giving you whatever punishment I see fit, understood?”

You nodded quickly as a shiver ran down your spine, before the scarf was carefully draped over your shoulders and the scent of cinnamon filled your nostrils. As you were about to move to lift the scarf up to bury your face in, your new drink was placed in front of you by a winking Rus.

“Thanks, Rus!” You smiled as you took a careful sip, glancing nervously at Edge as he sat back down.

You ended up hanging out with the skeletons for another hour or so, before Edge and Red brought you home and helped you into the house. After making sure you didn’t need anything, the two edgy brothers left you to your own devices. Locking the door behind them, they headed back to the others via Red’s shortcut.

Changing into your pjs and throwing your phone on the charger, you popped a few preemptive ibuprofen and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. Downing half of the bottle and pulling out a pack of goldfish crackers, you stayed up just long enough for you to feel like you would avoid a possible hangover the next day. You didn’t even bother to remove your makeup before you flopped onto your bed, asleep before your head had even hit the pillow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am seriously overwhelmed by how much support this story is getting. I'm so glad everyone is enjoying it so far! Every time I get one of your comments it fills me with warm fuzzies! ^_^
> 
> I love you all!  
> ~Kazul


	6. No Mis-steak-ing It, We Make Quite The Pear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the morning after Forgotten Underground's show... and your date with Red is tonight! Ack! Release the stomach butterflies!

It was late in the morning when you finally woke up the next day. Rolling out of bed and slipping on your hoodie, you grabbed your phone and headed outside for a cigarette, pausing briefly in the kitchen to crack open an energy drink. Glancing at your phone while you were taking the first glorious sip of caffeine, you almost choked when you saw your notifications; 27 New Messages.

 _Jesus Christ, bone boys_ , you thought as you set the can on the counter to actually head outside. After you lit up your smoke, you went through all of the new texts, starting will the ones who’s numbers were already in your phone first, responding to each before moving onto the next one.

> Red Alert: glad ya had fun 2nite doll :D
> 
> Red Alert: ill pick ya up round 530 2moro
> 
> Red Alert: jes wear sumthin casual
> 
> You: Sounds good Bones! ^_^

Red didn’t respond back right away, so you moved onto the next message thread. Choosing to skip Mutt’s texts for now, you tapped on Blue’s messages.

> Blueberry: It was good to see you at the show, ___!
> 
> Blueberry: I heard about your date with Red tomorrow from my brother, so I was wondering if you wanted to come over on Sunday for Friendship Tacos!
> 
> Blueberry: Paps mentioned that you would like to join him for his Friendship Spaghetti too, so he might join us. And then Black mentioned his Friendship Burritos…
> 
> Blueberry: So Sunday could be a whole Friendship Feast!
> 
> You: I don’t have any other plans on Sunday. A Friendship Feast sounds like fun!
> 
> Blueberry: Great! Mweh heh heh! I will let the others know!
> 
> You: Sounds like a plan!

Moving on to the texts from Paps, you smiled at the combined enthusiasm of the sweet skeletons.

> The GREAT Paps: ___! It was so good to meet you in person! I’m so glad you enjoyed the show too! Even if you do enjoy puns instead of more sophisticated forms of japery… -_-
> 
> The GREAT Paps: Also! I feel I must tell you that I do not usually approve of the dumping of cups of freezing cold liquids onto peoples’ heads!
> 
> The GREAT Paps: Although… I suppose sometimes that is the most effective way to deal with Mutt.
> 
> You: Sorry Paps! But I was just trying to help him out, since I figured he just needed a moment to _cool off._
> 
> The GREAT Paps: NYOO HOO HOO! ___!
> 
> The GREAT Paps: ___, why must you pun? I will ignore it for the moment, but I expect our Friendship Feast on Sunday to be! Pun! Free!
> 
> You: Blue told you already?
> 
> The GREAT Paps: Yes! We are working on some puzzles together!
> 
> You: Cool! I’ll leave you to it then. See you on Sunday!
> 
> The GREAT Paps: I look forward to it!

Smiling as you finished off your cigarette, you headed back inside. Swiping your energy drink off the counter, you headed back to your room, turned on Twitch to watch whatever ‘Link to the Past: Randomizer’ race was currently running, and settled in to go through the rest of your messages. Rolling your eyes, you pulled up the thread with Mutt, before you tried to sort out the unknown numbers.

> Stranger Danger: hey darlin
> 
> Stranger Danger: so i heard somethin interestin from the honeybun last night…
> 
> Stranger Danger: apparently youve got a date with the cherry pie…
> 
> Stranger Danger: howd that happen? and how can i get in on that?
> 
> You: He asked, Mutt. And you can’t ‘get in on’ anything.

You huffed in mild irritation with Mutt as you scrolled to the next new message, which you were immediately able to identify as being from Rus. Saving his number under ‘Honey Bunches’, you read through the few messages he’d sent.

> Honey Bunches: hey hun, it’s rus
> 
> Honey Bunches: thanks for helping out last night and sorry i kept stealing your drink
> 
> Honey Bunches: well… not really. it was delicious and i’ll admit i have a bit of a sweet tooth
> 
> Honey Bunches: heh, well i just want to let you know that i’m happy i got to meet you.
> 
> You: I’m glad I met you too Rus! And I’m glad I could help out! ^_^
> 
> Honey Bunches: maybe we could hang out sometime?
> 
> You: Sure! I’ll be over with Blue, Black, and Paps on Sunday for out Friendship Feast, so we can figure out something then.
> 
> Honey Bunches: sounds good hun

Moving onto the next unknown number, you took a long sip of your caffeine in a can as you tried to puzzle out who it was.

> (unknown): Greetings, pet,
> 
> (unknown): I must say, it was an absolute delight meeting you last night.
> 
> (unknown): I do hope I wasn’t too forward with you.
> 
> (unknown): It would be a shame to have scared you off before we even got a chance to know each other.
> 
> You: Black?
> 
> (unknown): At your service, pet.

Flushing slightly as you saved his number, you let out a huff as you typed your response to the skeleton.

> You: I’m not a pet, Black. I answer to no one.
> 
> SkeleSin: Of course not, ___.
> 
> SkeleSin: Not yet at least… ;)
> 
> You almost snorted your energy drink through your nose as you snorted at the balls on this skeleton. _Do… Do skeletons even have balls?_ you thought briefly. Once you stopped spluttering, you narrowed your eyes at your phone.
> 
> You: Listen here, you smooth motherfucker. You need to chill the fuck out before I’m forced to show you exactly how _feral_ I can be.
> 
> SkeleSin: Cute.
> 
> SkeleSin: I will drop it for now, however I would implore you to remember, my offer is always on the table.
> 
> You: >:-(
> 
> SkeleSin: ;) 

Moving along to the next message before you said something you’d regret later, there were two more threads from unknown numbers. Taking an educated guess, you figured that both Edge and Sans had texted you after getting your number. It was pretty clear which was which with half a glance at the messages, so you saved both numbers before reading through the threads.

> Edgelord: Thank you ___ for allowing me to drive you home last night.
> 
> Edgelord: I sincerely hope my brother doesn’t do anything to disappoint you on your date tonight.
> 
> You: Thank you for looking out for me Edge!
> 
> You: And thanks for letting me wear your scarf! I think I pulled it off pretty well, right?
> 
> Edgelord: I was simply being responsible for those who could not. Think nothing of it.
> 
> Edgelord: And I wasn’t about to try to argue with a drunk. 
> 
> Edgelord: Although… you did look good in my scarf.
> 
> You: 0.0
> 
> You: You’re gonna make me blush Edgelord.
> 
> Edgelord: Wouldn’t be the first time, and it most certainly will not be the last time I have that effect on someone.
> 
> You: Okay… well… that happened… 
> 
> You: I’m gonna go start getting ready for tonight.
> 
> Edgelord: I will make sure my brother, the lazybones, is presentable and on time when he comes to pick you up.
> 
> You: Thanks Edge!

Finally moving to the last new message thread, you drained the rest of your energy drink, and glanced at the stream you had running in the background. Turning your full attention back to your phone after a few seconds, you opened the messages from Sans.

> Comic Sans: heya kid
> 
> Comic Sans: it was good 2 meet u @ the show
> 
> Comic Sans: heard u nd paps will b doin the whole ‘friendship spaghetti’ thing soon. i sure hope u show up nd dont send an im- _pasta_ in ur place
> 
> You: No worries about that! I’ll see you on Sunday for the Friendship Feast thing I’m doing with Paps, Blue and Black. I’ll probably be over around noon _orzo_ unless we make them _fiori_ -ous with all of the puns!

While you had been responding to the messages from all of the skeletons, Red had apparently woken up and responded to your text.

> Red Alert: dinner then maybe sumthin else if ya want
> 
> You: Dinner where?
> 
> Red Alert: ya like steak?
> 
> You: Yes… why?
> 
> Red Alert: then ya wont b disappointed. we can talk more when we’re there
> 
> You: Okay Bones, talk to you later.
> 
> Red Alert: later doll ;)

Smiling to yourself as you turned your attention back to the stream, you watched the end of the race before hopping in the shower to clean up, tying your hair up in a bun in an attempt to avoid it from getting too wet, so you could keep it straight without completely having to redo it.

~ ~ ~

It was five o’clock. You had been ready to go for an hour by this point, and were now anxiously pacing around your house. Stepping out the back door to pace around outside on the porch while you inhaled a nicotine stick, you texted Will while you waited for the time to pass.

> You: OMG. I’m so nervous…
> 
> Willing & Able: Nervous nervous or nervous excited?
> 
> You: Nervous excited I guess…
> 
> Willing & Able: That’s good! That means you’re looking forward to this.
> 
> You: Yeah… but what if I scare him off?
> 
> Willing & Able: -_-
> 
> Willing & Able: If he can deal with you all day at work, I highly doubt you could scare him off after _he_ asked _you_ on a date.
> 
> You: I mean, sure, but what if he’s not okay with the whole poly thing? I don’t think I can go back to the one on ones again… you _know_ my track record with that.
> 
> Willing & Able: That could just have to do with your poor taste in men… and women… >_>
> 
> You: Rude!
> 
> Willing & Able: Look. I’m not gonna pretend I know what’s going on in that guy’s head. But! Just bring it up. GENTLY, ___! And see how it goes. This is only the first date, and that’s where you’re supposed to get to know each other.
> 
> You: You’re right…
> 
> Willing & Able: Usually am.
> 
> You: Go fuck yourself, asshole.
> 
> Willing & Able: Yeah, yeah, love ya too.
> 
> Willing & Able: Stop smoking like a chimney, go take a shot of booze and just _try_ to relax. Have a good time, and send pics! I wanna see who this Red character is.
> 
> You: Yeah, yeah…

Snorting to yourself in amusement, you sent Will a picture of a red crayon, laughing out loud when he replied with an ‘unimpressed’ emoji. Before you could torment your friend any further, you heard your doorbell ring. Hurrying back inside to answer the door, you paused in the kitchen to take a deep breath to calm your nerves.

Opening the front door, you saw Red standing there, looking just as nervous as you felt. He was wearing his usual black hoodie over a dark crimson polo shirt, dark blue jeans and the same combat boots he had been wearing at the show last night, with the red leather collar still fastened around his neck.

“Hey Red,” you greeted, stepping back to hold the door open. “Did you wanna come in for a minute?”

“hey doll,” he smiled as he stepped through the door. “ya look good t’day, ___,” he added after taking a moment to gaze over your outfit. You were wearing a pair of royal purple skinny jeans, a patterned loose fitting top that cinched around your waist and slouched off your shoulder, and a pair of tan ankle boots with flat soles that resembled moccasins. On top of all that, you even applied more eyeliner after your shower earlier, going with a darker purple this time.

Blushing, you smiled at the compliment. “Thanks, so do you.” Glancing outside over his shoulder, and spotting no unfamiliar cars, you asked, “So did you want me to drive, or…?”

“heh,” Red chuckled. “if yer okay wit’ it, i know a shortcut.”

Your eyes lit up as you realized that Red had just offered to _teleport_ you to your date. “Yes! Fucking hell! Absolutely, positively, one hundred percent yes!”

“cool,” Red chuckled again at your enthusiasm. “ya wanna lock up here? then we can get goin’.”

“Sure thing!” you chirped excitedly. You walked back into the kitchen to lock the back door before coming back to the living room. Red was studying the room while he waited, but as you walked up, his eyelights snapped to you.

“ready ta go?”

“Yep!” you announced as you shut and locked the front door. “Let’s do this thing!”

“c’mere doll,” Red said, holding out his hand. “gotta be touchin’ fer th’ shortcut ta work.” As you grabbed his hand, he pulled you close to him and wrapped his arm securely around you with a rumbling laugh. “close yer eyes, doll. it’ll make th’ trip easier.”

Narrowing your eyes at the skeleton suspiciously before you did as he asked, you closed your eyes and put your arms around his shoulders. As soon as your eyes shut, you felt as though the floor dropped out from underneath you. A second later, you felt the cool evening air around you as a gentle breeze tugged at your hair.

Cautiously peeking open one eye then the other, you noticed that you were now standing outside a Texas Roadhouse.

“Holy shit…” you breathed.

“ya good doll?” Red asked, looking at you with concern.

“We just fucking _teleported!_ That’s so fucking cool!” You tightened your arms around the skeleton in a hug. “It felt like when you're on a roller coaster and it goes over a long drop. A little scary, but thrilling at the same time.”

“interestin’,” Red commented as he hugged you back. “so, uh, is this place alrigh’? i mean, i woulda liked ta grillby’s, but he’s still back in ebott.”

“Red, this is perfect,” you smiled as you released him. “I _love_ Texas Roadhouse. Like, to the point where when I was up in college, my dad would drive all the way up to Massachusetts just so we could go together.”

“heh, good.”

“C’mon Bones,” you said, grabbing his hand and lacing your fingers with his phalanges. “There’s no mis- _steak_ -ing it, I’m so hungry I could eat a whole cow!”

Laughing as he let you lead him inside, Red smiled and wondered what he had done to be lucky enough to meet someone like you.

The two of you were seated in a booth by the bar and after the hostess left, you immediately dug into the fresh baked bread and cinnamon honey butter.

“Mmm… crackbutter,” you moaned as Red looked over the menu.

“ya tryin ta make me jealous over there doll?” Red quipped, leering at you from across the table.

“ _Please_. This was entirely a set up for you to take me here,” you waved your hand dismissively as you smirked. “Our date’s over. I’m going to marry this butter.”

“ow doll, yer breaking my non-existent heart,” the skeleton faked hurt. “ain’t ya gonna look at th’ menu?”

“Nope! I get the same thing every single time. Do you mind if I get alcohol?”

“go ahead, doll,” Red shook his head in amusement as he went back to the menu.

“Awesome.”

A short time later the waitress, a bipedal deer monster, walked over and introduced herself.

“Hi! My name is Bridget and I’ll be your server today. Can I get your drink orders to start?”

“I’m actually ready to order,” you smiled at the waitress before looking over to the skeleton. “You good Red?”

“yea, i’m set.”

“Fantastic! What can I get for you, miss?” Bridget asked cheerfully, pulling out her notepad.

“I’ll take the 8oz sirloin, medium, with fries and a caesar salad, no onions or mushrooms for the steak, but I will take the loaded fries. Can I also get a side of ranch with that? And to drink, I’ll have a Kenny’s Cooler, no kicker.”

“Awesome. I can tell you’ve been here before,” Bridget chuckled as she wrote down your order and checked your ID, which you had held out for her when you ordered the cocktail.

“Yep! This is one of my favorite places to eat.”

Smiling again, the waitress turned to Red, “And for you, sir?”

“shrimp ‘nd sirloin combo, medium well, same sides as her.”

“And to drink?”

“eh, coors light sounds good.”

“Bottle or draft?”

“Get the tall draft,” you chimed in trying to hide your snickering.

“uh, yea, wha’ she said,” Red agreed, sending you a confused look.

“Okay! I’ll go put this in for you and I’ll be back with your drinks shortly.”

“Thank you!” you chirped as Bridget walked away.

“alrigh’ doll, wha’s ticklin’ yer funny bone over there?”

Giggling again before you answered, you took a sip of water to calm yourself. “Your order.”

“why’s tha’ so funny ta ya?” he asked, raising a brow bone at you suspiciously.

“Like, no joke, that is _exactly_ what my dad order’s every time we eat here.”

“heh. guess tha’ is pretty _humerus_ ,” Red let out a relieved chuckle.

“There’s no mis- _steak_ , it certainly does bring up some fond memories,” you snorted.

“ya used tha’ one already, doll. but, i fer one _relish_ th’ chance ta get ta know ya better.”

“Guess I need to _mustard_ up the courage to ask all of the burning questions I have.”

Red let out a laugh as your drinks were dropped off. The two of you had arrived at the restaurant at the perfect time, apparently, since your food was not too far behind. As you both cut into your steaks, you started chatting again.

“So, Red,” you started, using a french fry loaded with cheese and bacon to gesture at him.

“sup doll?”

“How about we play the question game?” you suggested, quickly pulling the fry away from him as he tried to steal it out of your hand with his teeth. “We each ask questions in turn and if it’s relevant, we both give our answers.”

“ ‘nd we can ask anythin’?” Red asked as he popped a shrimp into his mouth.

“Sure, but we can answer with ‘too personal’ or something if we don’t want to answer,” you shrugged, cutting off another bit of steak.

“i’ll agree ta tha’. ya wanna start?”

“Okay! Hmm… so many questions. Let’s start with something easy. Favorite color? Mine’s purple.”

“no surprises there. heh. mine’s red, but like dark red, none of tha’ bright red shit.” Red smirked, ask he looked at you. “my turn. a harem? wha’ made ya want somethin’ like tha’?”

Rolling your eyes in exasperation, you grumbled, “So much for easing into things…”

“i can _ease inta things_ jes fine, doll,” Red leered at you again.

Snorting and almost choking on your drink, you sent the skeleton a dirty look. “Oh, I bet you could, Bones, but let’s save _that_ for at least the third date, yeah?” you smirked as your sass caused him to get flustered. “You wanted to know why I want a harem, right? Well aside from the obvious answer of ‘I like sex’, I guess I blame my friends in college for that. We had this really tight-knit group and just in general we were all really physically affectionate with each other. Ever since I moved back home, I’ve missed that. I don’t trust people as easily anymore, but back then, sex was just another level of trust. I miss being able to trust a group of people enough to know they would help take care of me on bad days… I guess it’s pretty selfish, really. I just, for once, want to feel like something good exists just for me…”

“wha’ happened ta make ya not trust people, doll?” Red asked, studying you over the top of his beer mug.

“Lots of things,” you shrugged. “But, it’s my turn to ask a question, Bones.”

“heh, sorry i was _out of line_ there,” he said with a grin.

“No cuts, no buts, no coconuts!” you giggled before taking the last sip of your cocktail. “So why do you wear the collar?” you asked, tilting your head to the side. “I mean, I can think of a few possible reasons, but I wanna hear yours.”

Red was silent for a bit, fidgeting with the collar in question. Eventually, he asked, “how much d’ya know about th’ underground, doll?”

“Not a whole lot, _tibia_ -nest,” you replied, knowing you had successfully derailed your question game, albeit inadvertently.

“then i’ll tell ya enough fer th’ collar ta make sense,” Red sighed, draining the rest of his beer. Your waitress swung by to drop off a new round of drinks before he spoke again.

“righ’, so, back in th’ underground there were these four distinct areas. each of ‘em were isolated from each otha until shortly b’fore we made it ta th’ surface. th’ place me ‘nd edge ‘re from was one o’ th’ ‘fell’ areas. mutt ‘nd black ‘re from th’ otha. i ain’t gonna try ta sugarcoat it, doll, it wasn’t a good place. it was kill ‘r be killed down there fer me ‘nd my bro… i was unlucky enough ta only have 1 hp, meanin’, even a single hit wit’ th’ intent ta harm coulda dusted me,” Red paused to gauge your reaction. He took a sip of his beer as you only silently waited for him to continue.

“one o’ th’ ways ta avoid anyone tryin’ ta use me fer ‘free exp’, was ta get collared by a stronger monster. edge was th’ one ta give me th’ collar, and back in th’ underground it was basically a sign saying ‘property of edge’ ta warn othas ta keep their hands off.”

“So it was originally meant for a combination of protection and ownership,” you summarized, and Red nodded. “So then, why do you still wear it now that you’re on the surface?”

“feel weird if i don’t,” Red shrugged. “i get kinda twitchy when i’m not wearin’ it.”

“Fair enough,” you nodded, as the two of you finished your meal. 

“did ya wanna get dessert, doll?” Red asked after the empty plates had been cleared away from your table.

“Nah. The dinners here always make me just the right amount of full,” you sighed contentedly as you drained the last drops of your drink. “So what else did you have in mind for tonight?”

“there’s karaoke happenin’ over at ‘elsewhere’ t’night, if yer interested.”

“Oh! I forgot they did that!” You lit up with excitement. “I used to go there with my mom and her friends! If we go, will you sing a duet with me?”

“course, doll,” Red laughed. “but i thought ya had ta take me on a date b’fore we _duet_?”

“Hey! That’s my line!” you huffed as the check was dropped off. 

Red smirked as he grabbed the check before you could even so much as glance at it. Throwing enough cash into the book to cover both the bill and tip, Red stood up and held his arm out to you.

“shall we?”

“Lead the way, my good sir,” you smiled as you looped your arm through his. The two of you walked out of the Texas Roadhouse and headed around the side of the building, so Red could shortcut you two over to Elsewhere.

Once you arrived at the bar, you decided to smoke a quick cigarette before you entered, with Red stealing one for himself. When you were both done, you made your way inside, only to freeze just inside the entrance as you heard someone shout your name.

“___? Holy shit, it is you! How you doin’, girl?”

Turning, you spotted the DJ making his way over to you from the bar. “Reid!” you cried out as you threw your arms around the short dark skinned man. “How the hell are you? I haven’t seen you in forever!”

“S’all good, s’all good. I see you’ve brought a date tonight, eh?” Reid chuckled as you stepped back over to Red, who put his arm around your waist. “You singin’?”

“Yeah, I’ll come over in a bit with my songs,” you told the DJ.

“Sounds good, lookin’ forward ta seein’ ya up there, girl,” Reid nodded as he headed back to the DJ booth.

You and Red walked over to the bar and ordered drinks before finding a table in the corner of the room. You opted to go with hard cider tonight, rather than your Magic Blue Drink and Red went with a bottle of Coors Light. As the two of you sat down, Reid announced the next person to sing.

Rolling your eyes at Red, since the ‘singer’ in question was really just screaming into the microphone, you smirked at the skeleton. “Do you know the song ‘Paradise by the Dashboard Lights’?”

“sure do, doll.”

“Let’s sing that first, then I’m gonna do a couple solo, okay?”

“i can get behind tha’.”

You went up to the DJ booth to tell Reid your song choices. After he nodded and sent you a thumbs up, you returned to where Red was sitting and the two of you watched the next couple of people take a turn up on the stage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know another 2 part chapter... but there's more singing in the next part, and this chapter was going to get really, REALLY long, if I didn't break it up.
> 
> Hope you all enjoy and thank you for all the comments and kudos!
> 
> ~Kazul


	7. You And Me Make Perfect Harmony

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time for the karaoke portion of your date with Red!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Songs in this Chapter:  
> \------------------------------------  
> Paradise by the Dashboard Lights by Meatloaf  
> Duality by Set It Off  
> If Ever I Would Leave You from Camelot  
> Here for the Party by Gretchen Wilson

Both you and Red were several drinks in by the time Reid called you up to sing for the first time. As you two walked over, he turned to the skeleton.

“Ain’t you in that band? Forgotten Underground?” Reid asked.

“yep,” Red shrugged while the two of you adjusted the height of the mic stands. “we had a show here last nigh’.”

“And it was awesome!” you chimed in with your two cents.

“Cool deal. I’ll have to come to the next one,” Reid nodded as he cued up the music for your song. The first notes came out over the speaker and you air-guitared along with them as Red grabbed his mic off the stand and began to sing.

_ (Red) Well I remember every little thing _

_ As if it happened only yesterday _

_ Parking by the lake and there was not another car in sight _

_ And I never had a girl _

_ Looking any better than you did _

_ And all the kids at school _

_ They were wishing they were me that night _

_ (Red) And now our bodies are oh so close and tight _

_ It never felt so good, it never felt so right _

_ (Red/ You) And we're glowing like the metal on the edge of a knife _

_ Glowing like the metal on the edge of a knife _

_ (Red) C'mon hold on tight _

_ Oh c'mon hold on tight _

_ (Red/ You) Though it's cold and lonely in the deep dark night _

_ I can see paradise by the dashboard light _

_ (You) Ain't no doubt about it we were doubly blessed _

_ 'Cause we were barely seventeen and we were barely dressed _

_ (Red/You) Ain't no doubt about it _

_ Baby got to go and shout it _

_ Ain't no doubt about it _

_ We were doubly blessed _

_ 'Cause we were barely seventeen and we were barely dressed _

_ (Red) Baby don't you hear my heart _

_ You got it drowning out the radio _

_ I've been waiting so long for you to come along and have some fun _

_ Well I gotta let you know _

_ No you're never gonna regret it _

_ So open up your eyes I got a big surprise _

_ It'll feel all right _

_ Well I want to make your motor run _

_ (Red) And now our bodies are oh so close and tight _

_ It never felt so good, it never felt so right _

_ (Red/ You) And we're glowing like the metal on the edge of a knife _

_ Glowing like the metal on the edge of a knife _

_ (Red) C'mon hold on tight _

_ Oh c'mon hold on tight _

_ (Red/ You) Though it's cold and lonely in the deep dark night _

_ I can see paradise by the dashboard light _

_ (Red) Though it's cold and lonely in the deep dark night _

_ (You) (Deep dark night)  _

_ (Red) Paradise by the dashboard light _

_ (Red/ You) You gotta do what you can _

_ And let mother nature do the rest _

_ Ain't no doubt about it _

_ We were doubly blessed _

_ 'Cause we were barely seventeen and we were barely  _

_ (Red) We're gonna go all the way tonight _

_ We're gonna go all the way and tonight's the night _

_ We're gonna go all the way tonight _

_ We're gonna go all the way and tonight's the night _

_ We're gonna go all the way tonight _

_ We're gonna go all the way and tonight's the night _

_ We're gonna go all the way tonight _

_ We're gonna go all the way and tonight's the night _

_ (You) Stop right there _

_ I gotta know right now _

_ Before we go any further _

_ Do you love me? _

_ Will you love me forever? _

_ Do you need me? _

_ Will you never leave me? _

_ Will you make me so happy for the rest of my life? _

_ Will you take me away and will you make me your wife? _

_ (You) Do you love me? _

_ Will you love me forever? _

_ Do you need me? _

_ Will you never leave me? _

_ Will you make me so happy for the rest of my life? _

_ Will you take me away and will you make me your wife? _

_ I gotta know right now _

_ Before we go any further _

_ Do you love me? _

_ Will you love me forever? _

_ (Red) Let me sleep on it _

_ Baby, baby let me sleep on it _

_ Let me sleep on it _

_ And I'll give you an answer in the morning _

_ Let me sleep on it _

_ Baby, baby let me sleep on it _

_ Let me sleep on it _

_ And I'll give you an answer in the morning _

_ Let me sleep on it _

_ Baby, baby let me sleep on it _

_ Let me sleep on it _

_ I'll give you an answer in the morning _

_ (You) I gotta know right now _

_ Do you love me? _

_ Will you love me forever? _

_ Do you need me? _

_ Will you never leave me? _

_ Will you make me so happy for the rest of my life? _

_ Will you take me away and will you make me your wife? _

_ I gotta know right now _

_ Before we go any further _

_ Do you love me? _

_ And will you love me forever? _

_ (You) What's it gonna be, boy? _

_ Come on, I can wait all night _

_ What's it gonna be, boy? _

_ Yes or no? _

_ What's it gonna be, boy? _

_ Yes or no? _

_ (Red) Let me sleep on it _

_ Baby, baby let me sleep on it _

_ Let me sleep on it _

_ And I'll give you an answer in the morning _

_ (You) I gotta know right now _

_ Do you love me?  _

_ (Red) (Let me sleep on it) _

_ (You) Will you love me forever?  _

_ (Red) (Baby, baby let me sleep on it) _

_ (You) Do you need me? _

_ Will you never leave me? _

_ Will you make me so happy (let me sleep on it) _

_ For the rest of my life?  _

_ (Red) (I'll give you an answer in the morning) _

_ (You) Will you take me away  _

_ (Red) (I'll give you an answer in the morning) _

_ (You) I gotta know right now _

_ Before we go any further _

_ Do you love me? _

_ Will you love me forever? _

_ (Red) Let me sleep on it _

_ (You) Will you love me forever _

_ (Red) Let me sleep on it _

_ (You) Will you love me forever _

_ (Red) I couldn't take it any longer Lord I was crazed _

_ And when the feeling came upon me like a tidal wave _

_ I started swearing to my god and on my mother's grave _

_ That I would love you to the end of time _

_ I swore, that I would love you to the end of time _

_ (Red/You) So now I'm praying for the end of time _

_ To hurry up and arrive _

_ 'Cause if I gotta spend another minute with you _

_ I don't think that I can really survive _

_ I'll never break my promise or forget my vow _

_ (Red) But god only knows what I can do right now _

_ (Red/You) I'm praying for the end of time _

_ It's all that I can do (oh oh oh) _

_ Praying for the end of time, so I can end my life with you _

_ (Red) It was long ago and it was far away _

_ And it was so much better that it is today _

_ It was long ago and it was far away  _

_ (You) (it never felt so good, it never felt so right) _

_ (Red) And it was so much better that it is today  _

_ (You) (and we were glowing like, a metal on the edge of a knife) _

_ (Red) It was long ago and it was far away  _

_ (You) (it never felt so good, it never felt so right) _

_ (Red) And it was so much better that it is today  _

_ (You) (and we were glowing like, a metal on the edge of a knife) _

The crowd in the bar cheered after the song was over, with several people calling out to you about how good it was to see you out at karaoke again. Your face was flushed from the combination of the compliments from everyone as well as the exertion from dancing around while singing. Once you and Red had made it back to your table with a new round of drinks, the skeleton turned to you.

“tha’ was fun doll,” he said as he looked out at the people in the bar. “lotsa people seem ta know ya here,” he commented, taking a swig from his beer bottle.

Shrugging as you sipped at your cider, you sent him an eye roll. Setting the bottle of cider down, you said, “I mentioned that I used to come out here with my mom and her friends, and I like to think I’m a halfway decent singer. Plus, Reid was one of my sister’s old gymnastics coaches, so we go way back.”

“ya have a sister? any otha siblin’s?” Red asked, intrigued. You hadn’t ever really brought up you family when the two of you talked at work.

“Nope. Just the one. She’s three years younger than me, so when I went away to school, we kinda drifted apart.”

“ah, cool. tha’ ya have a sister, not tha’ ya drifted. edge is only a year younger than me.”

“Nice. You plan on singing solo at all tonight?” you asked, as Reid brought up another participant.

“i migh’,” Red shrugged. “i’ll let ya know after i see ya go. see how much of a tough act ya ‘re ta follow.”

“Ha ha, funny,” you rolled your eyes at your date. “I already gave Reid the two songs I wanna sing, but I can go back over there to let him know what you want to do, if you want.”

“nah, don’t wanna ruin th’ surprise,” the skeleton smirked, sending you a wink.

Laughing, you rolled your eyes again. “Whatever you want, Bones,” you said with a cheeky grin. “Though if that’s the case, I’m not telling you what I’m singing either.”

“whatever ya want, doll,” Red echoed your words back at you.

A few people later, your name was called to come up again. You walked over to the smile and sent a wink to the skeleton as the music started up right as you started singing.

_ I can't quite contain or explain my evil ways _

_ Or explain why I'm not sane _

_ All I can say is this is your warning _

_ I can't quite contain or explain my evil ways _

_ Or explain why I'm not sane _

_ All I can say is this is your warning _

_ Duality _

_ I have a confession that you will not believe _

_ That you could not perceive this freak, gonna set it off _

_ I have a confession, of a side that I hide _

_ It's a cloak or disguise unleashed, gonna get it off _

_ No, I'll never get away _

_ Cause if I try to stray _

_ It only holds me closer _

_ No, I'll never get away _

_ I'll have it any way _

_ I'll never stop _

_ I can't quite contain or explain my evil ways _

_ Or explain why I'm not sane _

_ All I can say is this is your warning _

_ I can't quite contain or explain my evil ways _

_ Or explain why I'm not sane _

_ All I can say is this is your warning _

_ Duality _

_ Du-duality _

_ Du-duality _

_ I have an impression, in the back of my mind _

_ For the black in my tie contains all your dirty thoughts _

_ Make me an obsession, when you lock me inside _

_ For the ride of your life unleashed, gonna get it off _

_ No, can't count the list of things _

_ I know are wrong with me _

_ No need to justify them _

_ No, I'll never take the blame _

_ So I'll just stay the same _

_ I'll never stop _

_ I can't quite contain or explain my evil ways _

_ Or explain why I'm not sane _

_ All I can say is this is your warning _

_ I can't quite contain or explain my evil ways _

_ Or explain why I'm not sane _

_ All I can say is this is your warning _

_ Duality _

_ Du-duality _

_ Du-duality _

_ I am good, I am evil _

_ I am solace, I am chaos _

_ I am human, and that's all I've ever wanted to be _

_ No, can't count the list of things _

_ I know are wrong with me _

_ No need to just keep fighting _

_ No, I'll never get away _

_ I'll have it any way _

_ I'll never stop _

_ I can't quite contain or explain my evil ways _

_ Or explain why I'm not sane _

_ All I can say is this is your warning _

_ I can't quite contain or explain my evil ways _

_ Or explain why I'm not sane _

_ All I can say is this is your warning _

_ Duality _

_ Du-duality _

_ Du-duality _

Walking back over to the table, you raised an eyebrow at Red as he smiled at you and set his phone down on the table.

“Did you record me singing?” you asked him, a faint blush across your cheeks. “Please tell me you didn’t… I’m so awkward!”

“heh, ya looked pretty good up there ta me, doll. look even better over here,” Red winked as his phone went off several times in rapid succession.

“You… you sent it to someone…  _ Evil! _ ” you huffed, taking a long sip of your cider. “Who did you send it to?”

“th’ group chat,” Red chuckled as you spluttered incredulously at him.

“One, you sent it to  _ everyone? _ You are literally the worst...” you glared at him as he started laughing. “Two, there’s a group chat and you didn’t invite me to it?”

“sorry doll, we can fix tha’ later, ‘kay?”

“Fine...” you sighed. “Oh, and I told Reid you wanted to sing, so you’re up after two more people,” you added, smirking at the skeleton.

“alrigh’ by me.”

When Red’s name was called, he left the table with a smirk. Talking with Reid briefly to tell him the song choice, he moved behind the mic to wait for the music to start. Reid looked over at you, shaking his head and laughing as the song began.

You were shocked, your jaw dropping open as you heard the familiar bars of a  _ show tune _ of all things float through the speakers.  _ Damn, this skelly is full of surprises, _ you thought as Red started to sing.

_ If ever I would leave you _

_ It wouldn't be in summer. _

_ Seeing you in summer _

_ I never would go. _

_ Your hair streaked with sunlight, _

_ Your lips red as flame, _

_ Your face with a lustre _

_ That puts gold to shame! _

_ But if I'd ever leave you, _

_ How could it be in autumn. _

_ How I'd leave in autumn _

_ I never will know. _

_ I've seen how you sparkle _

_ When fall nips the air. _

_ I know you in autumn _

_ And I must be there. _

_ And could I leave you _

_ Running merrily through the snow? _

_ Or on a wintry evening _

_ When you catch the fire's glow? _

_ If ever I would leave you, _

_ How could it be in springtime? _

_ Knowing how in spring I'm bewitched by you so? _

_ Oh, no! not in springtime! _

_ Summer, winter or fall! _

_ No, never could I leave you at all! _

_ If ever I would leave you, _

_ How could it be in springtime? _

_ Knowing how in spring I'm bewitched by you so? _

_ Oh, no! not in springtime! _

_ Summer, winter or fall! _

_ No, never could I leave you at all! _

As Red smugly strolled back over to your table, you let out an appreciative whistle. ”Damn, Bones. I didn’t know you could sing like  _ that _ .”

“no one ever expects th’ show tunes, doll,” Red smirked before taking a sip of his beer. “so, wha’d ya think?”

“It was okay, I guess,” you shrugged, faking indifference.

“aww, doll, i was up there serenadin’ ya ‘nd it was jes ‘okay’?”

“Dammit, Red!” you laughed as he attempted to give you puppy dog eyes. “I really enjoy show tunes, okay? I haven’t found anyone to sing them with me for such a long time. If I knew  _ you _ liked them too, I would have picked a different duet!” you whined before finishing up your bottle of cider. Waving the now empty bottle, you said, “I’m gonna go grab another and step out for a smoke before I’m up again. You coming?”

Red silently chugged the rest of his beer as he stood up to follow you. “yep,” he answered with a grin. 

After grabbing your refills, the two of you made your way outside and headed to the corner of the building, near where you had met Rus the night before. Lighting up your cigarettes, the both of you exhaled a cloud of smoke before starting to talk.

“I’m having a really good time, Red,” you said as you moved closer to him, so that your shoulder was touching his.

“i’m glad ta hear tha’, ___,” the skeleton grinned before lacing his phalanges through your fingers.

“I can’t honestly remember the last time I had this much fun with someone,” you admitted, taking a drag off your smoke. “I, uh, don’t exactly have the best track record when it comes to relationships…”

“betta than me,” Red said quietly, looking away. “i don’t got any real experience wit’ ‘real’ relationships. i’ve done th’ whole one nigh’ thin’ a bunch, but, uh, i’ve never really ‘dated’ anyone b’fore,” he confessed nervously, a faint crimson glow on his skull.

“That’s okay, Bones,” you smiled reassuringly. “True ‘dating’ relationships aren’t for everyone.” You let out a sigh. “Honestly… I’m not sure if they’re for me… It’s another reason for the harem thing,” you added quietly, “but the only open relationship I’ve been in… ended poorly... I’m pretty sure he’s still dating the other chick,” you finished with a bitter laugh.

“open ‘nd poly ‘re different, ain’t they?” Red offered, squeezing your hand. “yer harem would be more like a play relationship. ‘specially if ya involve th’ otha boneheads.”

You chuckled as you looked at the skeleton, “Why would you say open and poly are different?”

“open, at least ta me, is like yer datin’ multiple people at th’ same time, but they never interact wit’ each otha. poly on th’ otha hand, would be like one big love-fest. everybody knows who’s involved ‘nd th’ bonds ‘re more like a tangled web ‘r somethin’.”

Leaning your head on his shoulder, you released a sigh. “That makes a good amount of sense…”

“monsters ‘re made up o’ love, ‘nd compassion, ‘nd shit, so poly relationships are a lot more common fer us,” Red shrugged, looking over at you. “as possessive as some of us skeletons can be… i could probably learn ta share yer time wit’ othas, dependin’.”

Lifting your head off of his shoulder, you looked at him in surprise. “So… would you have any problem with me looking for a poly relationship?” you asked tentatively, crushing your finished cigarette on the ground beneath your shoe.

“migh’ take some gettin’ used ta, but again, monsters aren’t th’ same as humans like tha’. if yer interested in more than one person ‘nd everyone’s cool wit’ it, ya jes go fer it,” Red reassured you, pulling you into a hug. “remember, i’m new ta th’ whole relationship thin’ period. I jes wanna get ta spend time wit’ ya, but we can be whatever ya want us ta be, okay, doll?”

“Y-Yeah,” your voice wavered at the incredibly sweet words from the edgy skeleton, and you hid your face in his neck for a moment. “I’m gonna smoke another to calm down before we go back in, okay?” you said as you pulled away from Red.

“alrigh’ doll,” he nodded, switching back to simply holding your hand.

The two of you smoked another cigarette each, choosing to remain silent and just enjoy being in each other’s company. Right as you were about to head back inside, a pair of headlights caught your attention. Scoffing lightly at the lime green Toyota Yaris that had pulled into the parking lot, you were about to enter the bar when you heard Red swear behind you.

“oh, wha’ th’ fuck…”

“What’s wrong, Red?” you asked, turning back to the skeleton.

“tha’s mutt’s car,” he growled. “‘nd th’ only reason he’d be drivin’ here was if he was bringin’ some o’ th’ othas.”

“Oh,” you said, before squeezing his hand. “So what, if they decided to come here? We’re here on our own, and we can leave whenever. Preferably after I sing one more song.”

“yea... okay, doll,” Red let out a huff as he followed you back into the bar.

Reid spotted you as you walked in and signalled that you would be up next. Sending him a thumbs up, you and Red made your way back to the table you’d claimed.

You headed up to the stage shortly afterwards, as Reid called you up. Smiling to the gathered crowd, you spotted four skeletons trying to slip into the bar as the music started up. Shooting a wink to your skele-date, you shrugged slightly as you started to sing.

_ Well I'm an eight ball shooting double-fisted drinking son of a gun _

_ I wear my jeans a little tight _

_ Just to watch the little boys come undone _

_ I'm here for the beer and the ball busting band _

_ Gonna get a little crazy just because I can _

_ You know I'm here for the party _

_ And I ain't leaving till they throw me out _

_ Gonna have a little fun gonna get me some _

_ You know I'm here, I'm here for the party _

_ I may not be a ten but the boys say I clean up good _

_ And if I give 'em half a chance _

_ For some rowdy romance you know they would _

_ I've been waiting all week just to have a good time _

_ So bring on them cowboys and their pick-up lines _

_ You know I'm here for the party _

_ And I ain't leaving till they throw me out _

_ Gonna have a little fun gonna get me some _

_ You know I'm here, I'm here for the party _

_ Don't want no purple hooter shooter just some jack on the rocks _

_ Don't mind me if I start that trashy talk _

_ You know I'm here for the party _

_ And I ain't leaving till they throw me out _

_ Gonna have a little fun gonna get me some _

_ You know I'm here, I'm here for the party _

_ You know I'm here for the party _

_ And I ain't leaving till they throw me out _

_ Gonna have a little fun gonna get me some _

_ You know I'm here, I'm here for the party _

When you walked back over to Red, you were not at all surprised to see the additional skeletons at your table. “Hey guys, when did you get here?” you asked casually, opting to perch on Red’s lap, causing him to blush but immediately wrap his arms around your waist.

“right before ya started singin’, darlin’,” Mutt drawled, leaning back against the wall with his arms crossed as he raised a brow bone at you and Red.

“You were fantastic, ___!” Blue spoke up from where he was sitting close to Black. 

“Indeed, your performance was impressive, ___,” Black agreed, resting his chin in his hand and his elbow on the table as he gazed at you. 

“Aww, thanks guys!” you beamed at them. “So are you all here to do some karaoke too?” you asked sweetly.

“somethin’ like that,” Mutt shrugged, seeming slightly on edge.

“s-sorry, hun,” Rus apologized as he walked up to the table with drinks for all the newcomers. “mutt was gonna c-come regardless, and those two t-tagged along after i said i was g-going to make sure he didn’t d-do anything st-stupid.”

You smiled at the shy orange-clad skeleton as he sat down in what had been your chair. “Thanks for trying, Rus. That was really  _ sweet _ of you,” you smirked at the reactions to the pun as you reached over and stole some of  _ his _ Magic Blue Drink.

“good one, doll,” Red rumbled behind you, tightening his arms around you slightly as Mutt continued to stare down the two of you.

“Red and I were actually planning on heading out soon,” you lied quickly, noticing the stare down happening between Red and Mutt. “That was my third song for the night, and I don’t want to strain my throat too much, and Red already sang once too.”

Rus narrowed his eye sockets ever so slightly at you, instantly picking up on the lie, but not calling you out on it. Black and Blue just nodded in understanding, expressing how they were happy that they at least got to hear you sing once.

Mutt let out a quiet, frustrated growl as he pushed off from the wall and walked outside, pulling out a dog treat as he went. Raising your eyebrows at the outburst from the normally laid back skeleton, you asked, “What’s his problem?”

“Aside from just being an idiot in general,” Black scoffed before sipping his beer, “my brother is not used to being ‘turned down’. As such, I believe he is simply jealous that you are on a date with Red.”

“ _ That’s _ what this is all about?” you said incredulously. “I fucking  _ told him _ he couldn’t ‘get in on’ anything this morning!”

“easy there, doll,” Red said into your ear.

“What an ass,” you huffed, settling back against Red.

“s-sorry, hun,” Rus apologized again, looking a little sheepish. “i was k-kinda drunk last night after th-the show… i maybe may have m-mentioned your date t-to mutt…”

“Hey, it’s okay Rus,” you shrugged, finishing off your cider. “I’ll try to talk to him tomorrow at the Friendship Feast or something.  _ Maybe _ .”

Red finished off his own beer as he released you so he could stand up. “i’ll go settle up at th’ bar ‘nd we can get goin’, yeah?” he directed to you.

“Yeah, let me just go say goodbye to Reid,” you nodded over at the DJ. “Meet me over there. We may end up chatting for a bit.” Red nodded and headed off to pay your tab as you turned to the remaining three skeletons. “Good to see you all again! I’ll see you all tomorrow, around noonish.”

The three said their goodbyes as you walked over to the DJ booth. “Hey Reid, me and Red are gonna head out now,” you told him as Red walked up next to you.

“Alright, alright, alright,” Reid bobbed his head, coming around the booth to give you a hug. “You gonna stop in on your birthday again, girl?”

“Eh, maybe. I haven’t decided what I’m gonna do yet,” you shrugged.

“when’s yer birthday, doll?”

“A week from today,” you sighed, “the ninth.”

“Well, we’ll be here if you wanna show up, girl.” Reid smiled, clapping you on the shoulder before moving to shake Red’s hand. “Get home safe, ___, and we’ll be seein’ ya!”

“See ya Reid!” you smiled as you and Red exited the bar hand in hand.

There was no sign of Mutt outside when you stepped out into the cool night air. Red rolled his eyelights as you looked around before tugging you towards him.

“where ta next, doll?”

“Take me back to my place?” you asked, stifling a yawn.

Red sent you a wink. “close yer eyes, ___,” he chuckled, before the two of you took a shortcut back to your house, ending up just inside your front door.

“Thanks, Bones,” you smiled as you stepped back from him. “Did you want to stay for a little bit?”

“nah, tha’s okay, doll. it’s late ‘nd ya look pretty tired there,” he grinned. “i had a ton o’ fun t’night.”

“A  _ skele _ -ton?” you giggled.

“heh, yea,” he said, shuffling his feet slightly.

“Me too, Red,” you smiled again as you threw your arms around his shoulders. “Thank you.”

“no problem, doll,” he said, wrapping his arms around you and pressing his teeth to your cheek. 

Blushing, you turned your head slightly and pressed your lips against his skull, right above his nasal cavity, letting out a giggle as he turned bright red.

“Goodnight, Red,” you said, smiling as you stepped away from the blushing skeleton. “Thanks again for tonight. I know you have your ‘shortcuts’, but can you text me when you get home?”

“heh, sure thin’, doll,” Red let out a chuckle. “I’ll see ya at th’ feast thin’ t’ _ marrow _ . night doll.” Red sent you a wink as he disappeared through one of his shortcuts and a few seconds later your phone buzzed from the text he sent.

> Red Alert: home now, sleep well nd sweet dreams
> 
> Red Alert: g’night doll


	8. Let's Taco-bout Things Before They Get Too Spicy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Friendship Feast Time! You head over to the skeleton house for some good food, bad jokes, and... drama?!?!

Sunday morning, usually your preferred time for sleeping in. But, here you were, wide awake at  _ 6:45AM _ .

_ Why… _ you groaned in your head. Rolling over to at least try to fall back asleep, you gave up pretty quickly and climbed out of bed a huff. Grabbing your phone and story notebook, you threw on your hoodie as you padded to the kitchen on bare feet.

You glared into your fridge when you opened it to grab your last energy drink, and made a mental note to stop somewhere on your way to the skeletons’ house later. Stepping outside for your first smoke of the day, you sat down on the steps of the porch and wiggled your bare toes in the grass.

Idly glancing at your phone as you exhaled a puff of smoke, you raised an eyebrow when you saw a new message alert from Paps, about an hour ago.

> The GREAT Paps: Good morning, ___! Today is our Friendship Feast! The address is 1337 Dreemur Ct, Wading River.
> 
> You: Paaaappppssss… Why are you awake at such an ungodly hour? Normal people sleep in on Sundays…. 
> 
> The GREAT Paps: I did sleep in! A whole fifteen minutes! Normally I am awake at 5:30 in the morning!
> 
> You: -_-
> 
> You: That’s soooo early… Why would you do that?
> 
> The GREAT Paps: To go for a morning run with Blue! Sometimes Edge or Black will join us too!
> 
> You: Did you guys eat the Energizer Bunny?
> 
> The GREAT Paps: I assure you, no Bunnies of Energy were consumed!
> 
> You: uh-huh, sure. Did you want me to bring anything today?
> 
> The GREAT Paps: No need! Just come with an empty belly to consume the Feast of Friendship!
> 
> You: Okay, Paps. I’ll text you when I’m on my way. 
> 
> The GREAT Paps: Perfect!

Sighing to yourself, you headed back inside to work on your book, staying in your pajamas for as long as possible until you needed to get ready to leave. Double checking your Maps app, you confirmed that you had about a forty minute drive to the skeleton household and set an alarm on your phone for 10:45AM. This way you would be able to focus all your attention on your story and still be ready to leave on time.

~ ~  ~

The sounds of Bach’s Suite no. 3: Bouree I on Bassoon chimed from your phone, and you quickly finished your thought before capping your pen and grabbing your phone to silence the alarm. Heading to your room to put on ‘real’ clothes, you opted for a loose fitting pair of sweatpants instead of your pajama bottoms and just grabbed the first bra you saw, slipping it on under your tank top. Shrugging your hoodie back on, you locked up the house and headed to the skeleton house. Sending Paps a text that you were on your way before pulling out of the 7-Eleven parking lot with your bounty of caffeine, you hooked up your phone to the car stereo and cranked up your music to sing along with as you settled in for the drive.

Eventually, you pulled up to a large house set back aways from the road. Verifying with your GPS that you were at the right place, you pulled into the driveway, nodding your head when you spotted Mutt’s lime green Yaris. Locking your car and heading towards the door, you let out an appreciative whistle as you swept your gaze over the other vehicles in the driveway.

There was a sleek black Dodge Viper with a spoiler and red racing stripes, a bright red convertible Ferrari Dino Spider, a gunmetal gray customized Cafe Racer, a bright blue Kawasaki Ninja, and a large Ford van with the band’s name and logo painted on the side, along with Mutt’s Yaris. Eyeing the sports cars enviously, you made it to the door and rang the bell.

A few beats later, the door was opened by Rus, who smiled when he saw you.

“hey, hun, c-c’mon in. blue, paps and black are in the k-kitchen g-getting things ready.”

“Hey Rus,” you smiled as you followed the skeleton into the house. Apparently Rus shared a similar opinion to you about Sunday mornings, since he was wearing his hoodie, a pair of sweatpants, and orange slippers.

Entering the kitchen, you were immediately swept into a bone crushing hug by Paps, only to be set down on your feet for a moment before you were grabbed by Blue. Black just smirked at you from where he was leaning against the kitchen island.

“Hey guys,” you greeted them, when you were free from all the skele-hugs. “So what’s the plan? Are we making everything at once or are we gonna split it up for lunch and dinner or something?”

“Well, we were all talking,” Blue started.

“And since we just had spaghetti for dinner last night, we are just going to have the tacos and burritos tonight!” Paps finished up.

“Okay, that makes sense,” you shrugged, looking over as the door connected to the garage opened and Edge walked in. “Oh, hi Edge!”

“Hello, ___,” he nodded his head politely in your direction. “When you do come over to do this again, we shall be making both spaghetti and lasagna,” he stated, his tone leaving no room for arguments. 

“Sure!” you agreed happily. You hadn’t had homemade lasagna in forever.

“Then I suppose we shall take our leave now, since Black and Blue are the burrito and taco experts!” Paps announced, as he made to follow Edge out of the kitchen.

You gulped. “W-wait! Paps!” you called, glancing over to the shorter two skeletons nervously. “I thought you w-were gonna cook too?”

“Next time!” he grinned and patted your head reassuringly. “Edge and I will be the only ones to cook with you when we make the pasta dishes!”

“O-okay…”

“Come on, ___,” Black said to get your attention, grinning widely at you. “Let’s get started. This way we can properly show you our  _ technique _ .”

You gulped again. There was no way you were ready to handle the two of them if they tried to tag team you right now.  _ Oh man…  _ you thought as Black smirked at you,  _ I’m gonna be so _ boned _ … _

The three of you remaining in the kitchen looked at each other for a moment before Blue cleared his throat to break the building tension.

“Ahem, yes, shall we begin?” he asked, pulling out a package of ground beef from the fridge.

Black smirked once again as he brushed past you to grab a bag of rice and several cans of black beans out of the pantry behind you as you remained frozen in place. “Come now, pet. Dinner isn’t going to cook itself,” he purred as he walked around you to deposit his armload on the counter next to the meat.

“Black…” you narrowed your eyes at the skeleton in warning.

“___, I’m about eighty percent sure that Black is calling you ‘pet’ the same way Rus calls you ‘hun’. Just a term of endearment,” Blue said, rolling his eyelights as he pulled out all the necessary pots and pans. “And Black, dear,” he added with a pointed look towards his… we you weren’t quite sure  _ what _ the two of them were, and you weren’t going to dwell on that at the moment. “ _ Behave _ .”

Soon enough, the three of you fell into a rhythm of working together and around each other, much like a choreographed dance. Blue was in charge of seasoning and browning the ground beef, while Black kept an eye socket on the beans and rice as they cooked. You primarily focused on preparing all of the fixings for both the tacos and the burritos, although you would occasionally jump in to stir something when one of the skellies got way too into one of their stories. You shared a few of your own, and surprisingly you were able to successfully multitask, thanks to your previous experience working as a bartender.

Once the food was done cooking, Black and Blue took everything off the stove top and stored it in the oven to keep it warm until it was a bit closer to dinnertime.

“Um, would you guys mind if I stepped outside for a smoke before we clean up?” you asked.

“Go ahead,” Black said, pointing at the sliding glass door that led to their backyard. “There should be an ashtray on the porch somewhere, unless Rus or Mutt moved it again.”

“Thanks,” you smiled, as you stepped outside. Taking a moment to look around the yard, you noticed a shed off in the back corner, a gazebo in the opposite corner, a few trees scattered here and there, and what appeared to be some kind of vegetable garden tucked against the house next to the porch. Lighting up your cigarette, you stared out across the yard, and allowed you thoughts to drift aimlessly.

A trio of ‘pops’ broke you out of your reverie moments later and you turned to see Mutt, Rus and Red now standing on the porch behind you.

“heya doll,” Red grinned, stepping over to you to give you a hug, while Rus just sent you a wave, having already seen you when he let you into the house.

Mutt just looked at you with an unreadable expression on his skull before he turned away to light his dog treat.

Raising your eyebrows at Rus and Red as Red stepped back, you gestured towards Mutt in a silent question. Both of them simply shrugged as they lit up their own cigarettes and started chatting amongst themselves. Rolling your eyes, you let out a huff as you walked up next to Mutt. 

“Hey Mutt,” you said softly.

“sup,” he responded, glancing down at you briefly before continuing to stare off into space.

You looked over your shoulder to where Red and Rus were standing,  _ totally _ not trying to eavesdrop. Sending them a pointed look and making a shooing motion, you received twin sets of rolling eyelights from them before they shortcutted away. Looking back to Mutt, you saw he had raised his brow bone at you in question.

“Did I do something wrong? Something to upset you?” you finally asked, staring out at the yard.

“no.”

“Then what’s with all the tension between you and Red?” you huffed, turning to face the tall skeleton next to you. “And don’t even  _ try _ to tell it’s nothing.”

“it’s nothin’ t’do with you,” Mutt shrugged. “me ‘n’ him always get sorta… competitive.”

“Oh  _ hell _ no! I am  _ not  _ some sort of  _ toy _ for the two of you to be fighting over!” You growled, you voice growing louder as you narrowed your eyes at Mutt. “If you had actually bothered to  _ talk to me _ , then you would have known there is nothing to  _ be competitive _ over! I’d be perfectly fine dating more than one of you  _ boneheads _ !” You exclaimed, unaware that your increasing volume was attracting an audience in the kitchen, and glass really wasn’t very sound proof. “Jesus fuck, Mutt. I would have been perfectly fine going on a date with you too, if you had  _ asked _ , instead of whining and throwing a tantrum like a  _ child _ .”

Mutt stared at you, eye sockets wide. “i… m’sorry, darlin’...” he said quietly.

“Sorry doesn’t cut it, Mutt. You need to learn how to actually  _ listen _ . I’m not just some life support system for a vagina; I’m a  _ person _ , with  _ feelings _ . If you’re not gonna listen, why would I even bother trying to trust you enough to open myself up to you? I don’t need that in my life anymore,” you said turning away from him. “I’ve been burned too many times before by trusting the wrong person, and I’m not looking to do it again,” you added, stubbing out the remains of your cigarette in the ashtray and heading back into the house. Squeezing your eyes shut as you slid the door closed behind you, you willed yourself not to start crying.

“doll?” Red asked, walking over to you as soon as he saw that you looked upset. “can i do anythin’ fer ya?”

“N-No…” you winced as your voice cracked. “I-It’s just fr-frustration…” you managed to get you before a tear escaped and rolled down your cheek. “S-sorry…”

“c’mere doll,” Red said, pulling you into a hug. “let’s go chill on th’ couch fer a bit, ‘til it’s time fer dinner, ‘kay?”

You nodded, not trusting your voice at the moment, as you let the skeleton lead you into the living room where the others had moved to when they saw you heading back inside, not wanting to be caught listening in to your conversation with Mutt. You ended up on the couch, sandwiched between Rus and Red, as Red kept his arm around your waist comfortingly. Sans was on the other end of the couch, next to Rus, glancing at you curiously. Black and Blue shared the loveseat, while Paps and Edge each sat in armchairs at either end of the whole set up.

“Did my brother do or say something to upset you?” Black asked after a moment, once you were settled on the sofa.

You shook your head, before shifting slightly to lean against Red more comfortably. “O-over emotional… it’s st-stupid…” you said quietly. “I’ll be f-fine in a m-minute… Don’t w-worry about me…” You gave them all a shaky smile.

You were met with seven identical stares of disbelief before Blue spoke up. “Why don’t we just watch a Napstaton movie or something until it is time for dinner? Is that okay with everyone?” he asked, although he specifically watched for your reaction. After you sent him a shrug of indifference, he sighed as he loaded the DVD into the player.

Once he sat down beside Black again, he used the remote to start the movie. While the movie played, your thoughts began to wander as you snuggled between Rus and Red. Soon enough you had zoned out completely as your thoughts circled between each of the skeletons. Black and Blue concerned you, but that would probably resolve itself whenever you worked up the nerve to accept their offer. Red was potentially going to be even more interesting to work with now, but you felt that you could deal with that if anything came up. Edge was dangerous and not just because he had  _ killer _ good looks. You couldn’t quite figure him out yet, so he was a bit of a wildcard. Paps and Rus were just too sweet, and you just wanted to hide them away from the world to protect them. Mutt was, well honestly he acts a lot like the way you did back in college before you learned to be wary of people. You were probably a little too harsh earlier, but… well, you’d try to apologize to him later. Finally, you swirling thoughts landed on Sans. At first he came across as just a lazy, laid back kind of guy, but that didn’t feel quite right to you. Usually you were pretty spot on with your first impressions of people, but something about that skeleton made the hair on the back of your neck stand on end if you thought about it too much.

You were jolted out of your thoughts by a skeletal hand patting your knee. Looking up at the skeleton it was connected to, you saw Rus smiling at you.

“the m-movie is over, hun,” he said softly. “the o-others went to the k-kitchen to start pulling everything out for dinner.”

“ya wanna head outside fer a smoke b’fore dinner?” Red rumbled from your other side, giving you a gentle squeeze. When you gave him a nod, he sent you a wink as he pulled you through a shortcut out to the porch, with Rus following along behind.

The three of you had your smokes in silence as you watched the sun starting to duck behind the tallest of the trees. Disposing of the cigarette butts, you and the skeletons headed into the kitchen where the table had been set and all the food had been laid out.

“Sorry guys,” you directed to Black and Blue, sending them a sheepish look. “I was supposed to be helping you two with all this.”

“Nonsense,” Black scoffed, taking his seat at the table. “You came over to help up cook, which you did.”

“Yes, ___!” Blue chimed in from where he was already seated. “Did you have fun while we were cooking?” As you nodded, Blue continued, “Mweh heh heh! Then our Friendship Feast Part One was a success! If you  _ really _ want to, you can help with the dishes later!”

“Okay,” you sent the pair a small smile. “Everything smells really good, so I think we did a good job with cooking too.”

“Of course we did! With the Magnificent Blue!” Blue started.

“And the Maleficent Black!” Black smirked as he jumped in before both of them continued in unison.

“Nothing less than perfection could be expected!”

You snorted out a laugh, almost choking on your water. “Holy shit guys…” you wheezed. “Do you practice that or are you just naturally in sync like that?”

“No practice needed!” Blue beamed. “We are just naturally this awesome!”

“Though, if you’re still curious, we can always give you a demonstration of just how  _ in sync _ we can be,” Black purred, causing you to flush bright red and the others to chuckle.

“Uh… n-no thanks…” you spluttered, hiding your face in embarrassment. “H-how about a raincheck?”

The shortest skellies of the group sent you matching leers again, since you had basically just agreed to join them  _ eventually _ . After a moment, things settled down and you all began to dig into the wonderful spread of tacos and burritos.

Mutt never did show up for dinner, and any concerns you had about him not eating were brushed to the wayside after Paps told you he would set a plate aside for him to eat later. You couldn’t help but feel a little guilty, but you weren’t able to dwell on it for too long as you were swept up into the various conversations happening around the table.

Eventually, the food was eaten, dishes were washed and the leftovers were packed away, including a doggie bag for you to take home. As you said your goodbyes to the boys, getting a hug from each of them, (yes, even Edge!) Rus pulled you aside when you got to him.

“i c-can try to t-talk to mutt tonight, if you want, hun,” the shy, sweet, skeleton offered as he hugged you.

“Don’t worry about it too much, Honey Bunches,” you shrugged with a smile, returning the hug. “I’ll try to catch him at work tomorrow and if I don’t, I can always text him. But the ball is his court for the moment, so I’m content to just leave it for tonight.”

“alright,” Rus smiled before cocking a brow bone at you, “and ‘honey bunches’?”

“Yep!” you beamed, refusing to elaborate further.

“fine hun,  _ bee _ that way,” he smirked as you let out a laugh. “see you n-next weekend for the f-friendship f-feast p-part two?”

“Most likely, but I’ll confirm with Paps and Edge during the week. You can text me whenever though, okay Rus?”

“thanks, hun,” Rus nodded before finally releasing you and walking back to the others.

Red was waiting to walk you out to your car, taking hold of your hand when you got close to him. 

“everythin’ good doll?”

“Should be,” you shrugged, squeezing his hand as you reached your car.

“ya will, uh, let me know if there’s anythin’ i can to ta help, righ’?” Red asked as the two of you leaned against the side of your car. 

“I will, Red,” you reassured the skeleton before checking the time on your phone. It was already 8:45 and you still had at least a forty minute drive back home. “Ugh…”

“wassamatta, doll?”

“Long drive home,” you grumbled.

“heh. tha’s th’ beauty o’ shortcuts,” Red chuckled. “next ta no travel time.”

“Well, we all can’t be as blessed as you, Bones,” you smiled while rolling your eyes. Catching him by surprise, you leaned over to press a kiss to his cheek before hopping into the driver’s seat. “Night, Red. I’ll text you when I get home, and I’ll see you at work tomorrow.”

“th-thanks, doll, see ya at work,” Red replied, blushing slightly, the glowing on his skull casting a faint red light over the area. “drive safe.”

“Eh, maybe,” you said with a smirk as you pulled your door closed. You lit a cigarette, rolled down your window and waved to Red as you pulled out and started your journey back home.

Once you arrived home, you rushed through your nightly routine after texting Red to say you had made it safely. Collapsing into your bed, you managed to fall asleep rather quickly with thoughts of the skeletons you had dubbed as ‘your’s’ danced through your dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the delay! I felt like I just couldn't find the time to sit down and type this up, but here it is, and I have a good portion of the next chapter written as well! Thanks again for all your support!
> 
> As a side note, I just found out today at work that one of the women on the Board of Directors at my job, actually knows me as "The Laser Lady"... >_< I'm dying...


	9. Dog-gone Skeletal Sleepover Shenanigans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You're invited to a sleepover at the skeleton house, and you and Mutt finally get a chance to talk!

As far as work went for the next week, nothing particularly exciting happened; A.K.A.  _ same shit different day _ . The only thing that really stuck out to you was Mutt, or rather the absence of Mutt. He was avoiding you at work, even when you tried to catch him in his office, and he was ignoring all of your texts. You had confirmed with both Blue and Red that he  _ was _ in fact at work, and Red had even told you that he saw him when they had practice. It was only  _ you _ that he was avoiding.

After work, you spent your nights at home playing video games or working on your book, in between texting with the skeletons. Red hung out with you at your place one night when the band didn’t have practice, and the two of you spent the evening curled up on the couch watching The Big Bang Theory on TV.

On Friday during lunch, after yet another unsuccessful morning of trying to catch Mutt, you met up with Red and Blue for lunch as per usual. Blue asked you, on behalf of the rest of the skeleton house, if you were interested in joining them that night for a sleepover/movie night. Seeing it as a good chance to actually try and talk to Mutt, you agreed, saying that you would head over after you stopped at home to shower and grab an overnight bag. Blue assured you that he would inform the others, and you and Red followed along behind him as he skipped away “Mweh heh heh”-ing, all the way back inside.

~ ~ ~

You were on your way to the skeleton house, after flat out refusing Red’s offer to pick you up via shortcut. You felt way more comfortable having your car with you, just in case. This was going to be your first sleepover in a while that wasn’t at a relative's house or that you were obligated to attend because of someone’s birthday.Letting out a sigh, you started thinking about how you were going to try to fix the whole situation with Mutt. 

It’s not like you were trying to make him change who he was, you just wanted him to actually listen to you and respect your boundaries. Admittedly, you missed when he would drape himself on top of you. Even though you had only known him for a short time, you could be honest with yourself that you were craving that sort of casual affection.

Flicking your cigarette butt out the window as you turned onto their street, you pulled into the driveway, parked your car, and grabbed your backpack with your clothes and other essentials before walking up to the front door.

You rang the doorbell and didn’t have to wait long before the door was opened by Sans.

“hey, kid. got roped into joining the sleepover?” he asked with a lazy grin.

“Yup,” you nodded as he let you inside. “You going to be joining in on the fun and games?”

“nah, i got a shift tonight. gonna grab a nap before i go. these  _ graveyard _ shifts make me  _ dead _ tired just thinking about them.”

You let out a snort of laughter as you deposited your backpack next to the couch. “Where is everyone?” you asked, looking around and seeing the house  _ sans _ skeletons, with the exception of the one standing right next to you.

“around,” Sans shrugged. “i think some of the guys are working on a new song, and the others are out back training or something. you need anything else? ‘cause imma go take that nap otherwise.”

“I’m good,” you smiled. Sans sent you a wave as he shortcutted away, presumably to his room, and you were left to fend for yourself. Walking into the kitchen, you spotted Paps, Black and Blue out in the backyard in the middle of what looked like sparring, with a variety of weapons.

Cautiously walking closer to the door, you watched the fight for a few minutes before finally stepping out onto the porch. It took only a few seconds for the sparring skeletons to notice you and pause their fight to come over and greet you.

“___!” Blue and Paps shouted as they rushed over.

“Hey guys,” you waved as they approached. “I didn’t mean to interrupt anything, sorry.”

“No, no! It’s fine, we were due for a break anyway!” Blue smiled before letting his giant hammer disappear, since apparently they were using  _ magic _ weapons.

You blinked as both Paps and Black, who had followed the other two at a more sedate pace, also dismissed their weapons. Paps had been using a summoned bone nearly as long as he was tall and wielding it like a staff, while Black was using some sort of sword that you totally recognized, but just couldn’t remember the name of.

“Of  _ course _ the weapons are magic...” you huffed as the trio gathered around you.

“Would you like to watch us continue with our training, ___?” Paps asked, pulling you in for a hug. “If not, I believe the others are _fine tuning_ a new song in the garage.”

The skeletons all froze as a horrified look grew on the tallest one’s face, and Black and Blue just stared at him.

“Did he just…?” Blue asked.

“I think he did…” Black said, narrowing his eye sockets at Paps.

You broke the mini standoff by letting out a loud peal of laughter and clutching your sides. “Oh my gods, Paps...” you said between fits of giggles. “That… that was beautiful!”

“NYOO HOO HOO!” Paps wailed dramatically. “I didn’t mean it!” The skeleton crossed his arms and glared down at you causing you to laugh even harder. Suddenly you found yourself hoisted off of the ground and placed over Paps’ shoulder as he marched through the kitchen and into the garage.

The four skeletons in the garage looked up in surprise as the door slammed open, and you were deposited on your feet, still giggling.

“NYEH! The human is has infected me with subpar humor! She is  _ your _ problem now!” Paps stated as he fled back outside, pulling the door closed behind him, rejoining the others in training.

You looked up, still trying to get the giggling under control, and was three raised brow bones and Mutt looking anywhere but at you.

“Paps, pfft, made a pun,” you said with a shrug through your giggles, still smiling so much that your cheeks were beginning to hurt.

“heya doll,” Red smiled as he set his guitar on its stand before he walked over and wrapped his arms around you.

“h-hey, hun,” Rus greeted from where he was still fiddling around on his bass.

As Red released you, Edge walked over and placed a hand on your shoulder. “Good to see you again, ___,” he said with the barest hint of a smirk on his teeth. “If you’ll excuse me, I am going to join the others outside for a bit, before we get started with all of the festivities.”

“Have fun,” you called after him as he walked out of the garage. Turning back to the others, you were surprised to see Mutt still standing by the mic stand. You had honestly expected him to step through a shortcut the second you were distracted. “Hi Mutt,” you said with a tentative smile.

“uh, hey, ___,” he said, violet beads of sweat dotting his skull.

Glancing over towards Red and Rus, you mentally shrugged and decided to just say what was on your mind now, before Mutt tried to flee again. “I just wanted to say that I’m sorry for last Sunday, Mutt. I shouldn’t have yelled at you the way I did. I don’t know what you’ve dealt with in life, but I know that I tend to get over emotional and defensive and-”

“darlin’,” Mutt cut you off, finally looking over at you. “most of what y’said was right. m’not upset or anythin’ with you, i was more annoyed with m’self. i… i’ll come find you later and we can actually talk, okay?”

“Uh, sure,” you nodded. Mutt sent you a grateful smile and shyly opened his arms in invitation. Your eyes lit up as you rushed over and threw your arms around him.

“m’sorry darlin’,” Mutt whispered as he hugged you close.

You were just happy that he wasn’t trying to avoid you anymore. Pulling back slightly, you smiled at him. “We’ll talk later. I’ll head back inside so you guys can finish up here.”

“don’t worry doll,” Red spoke up, “we’re jes’ about done fer now anyways.”

“yeah,” Rus agreed, “with paps and now edge tr-training, we can’t actually d-do anything else.”

“why don’t we go watch some tv or somethin’ until they’re done outside?” Mutt suggested, with a quick look over to the other two skeletons.

“Sounds good to me,” you shrugged, smiling at the three of them.

The four of you moved to the living room and you soon found yourself in the middle of a mini cuddle puddle on the couch. Red was sitting on one side and Mutt was on your other side, both of them leaning against you, while Rus was laying sideways with his back against the armrest and his long legs draped across all of your laps.

One of the skeletons used their magic to levitate the remote over and the TV was turned on. The guys flipped through the channels, passing the remote around between themselves, until you grabbed the remote to just pick a show, since no one else was settling on anything. Changing the channel to HLN, you kept hold of the remote as Forensic Files came on.

“If you three can’t pick something, then we’re just gonna watch my murder shows,” you huffed.

“ya really watch this kinda thin’?” Red asked, looking at you out of the corner of his eye socket.

“Yes. I find this stuff fascinating,” you nodded as you settled in to watch your show, ignoring the odd looks the boys were sending you.

Eventually, the more energetic skeletons came in from outside, disappearing into their rooms to clean up and change out of their ‘workout’ clothes. When they slowly returned to the living room, now wearing various forms of casual clothing, Paps and Blue brought stacks of pillows and blankets with them, dumping them into a pile on the floor.

“What’s all that for?” you asked as the pile of bedding kept growing. 

“Sleepover Nest!” Blue answered before dashing off to grab even more pillows.

“eh, it’s wha’ they do, doll,” Red told you. “every time they have one o’ these thin’s, they build a big nest fer everyone ta pile inta.”

“it’s n-nice and c-cozy,” Rus chimed in.

“Sounds like the ultimate cuddle puddle to me. I’m in,” you shrugged as you watched the boys work.

Once the ‘construction’ was complete, someone suggested pizza, and Paps pulled out his phone to order through the app, with everyone calling out topping suggestions. Looking over the options, you got excited when you were able to replicate your favorite pizza from college. Pointing out your choices silently to Paps to keep it a surprise, you smirked triumphantly and kept your mouth shut until the food arrived.

All eight of you climbed into the nest and Black turned on a random Disney movie as you all waited for the pizzas. Halfway through the movie, the doorbell rang and the movie was paused as Edge freed himself from the pile of skeletons to go grab the food. The pizzas were brought into the kitchen and one by one, everyone made their way in, interested to see what combination you had come up with.

With a flourish, you opened the box that contained your pizza and announced, “May I present to you, the ’Shaq Pizza’! I have no idea why it’s called that, but it is the absolute best thing ever. Grilled chicken, barbecue sauce, and french fries.” You were practically drooling as you showed off the pizza, and as soon as you were handed a paper plate, you grabbed two slices for yourself.

“y’said this’s got barbecue sauce on it, darlin’?” Mutt peered over your shoulder at the pizza, seemingly intrigued.

You nodded as you chewed your first bite, closing your eyes in bliss. “Oh, so good…” you moaned before taking another bite.

Mutt grabbed a slice of your pizza, studying it for a moment before he finally took a bite. “oh, shit, this’s pretty good, darlin’.”

You sent him an ‘I told you so’ look, before raising an eyebrow at the others to see if anyone else was going to try it.

When everyone had eaten their fill, the leftover pizza was stored in the fridge and you all returned to the living room to finish the movie. After the credits rolled, Truth or Dare was suggested, along with Never Have I Ever, but both were shot down pretty quickly. You suggested playing some sort of drinking game, which everyone got behind, and drinks were hastily acquired. Black was sipping at a glass of scotch on the rocks, with Blue following suit with a glass of whiskey neat, instead. Edge and Paps were drinking wine, Edge opting for red and Paps drinking white. Rus, Red and Mutt had grabbed various bottled beers, most likely whatever they happened upon first, and Red handed you a bottle of the hard cider you had been drinking on your date with him.

You raised a brow in question as you accepted the bottle causing Red to let out a chuckle. “i told ‘em ta grab a case o’ these fer ya doll. ya said ya didn’t like beer too much.”

“Thanks, Bones,” you smiled before turning to face the other skeletons. “So do we want to watch a movie and make up rules to drink to or do we want to do something else?” you asked.

“We could always set up a beer pong tournament,” Edge surprisingly suggested. “There are eight of us, so we could have four doubles teams and do best-of-three rounds.”

“That could work, but we’re all drinking different things. How do you plan to handle that?” you countered.

“Large sips of whatever you’re drinking. If we want the tournament to actually last for any length of time, then this should work fine. The cups can be filled with water to properly weigh them down as well.”

“Sounds good,” you nodded. “How do  _ you _ have so much experience with this Edgelord?”

Edge just smirked as Mutt spoke up. “so what’ll the teams be?”

You looked over to Red, who shook his head. “sorry doll. i’m gonna hafta go wit’ paps fer this. th’ creampuff’s got th’ best aim afta edge, ‘nd he refuses ta team wit’ me.”

“i’ll t-team with you hun,” Rus volunteered, sending you a smile.

“Thanks Honey Bunches!” You beamed up at him. “I’m guessing Black and Blue are together.  _ Teaming _ together,” you quickly corrected yourself, blushing furiously.

“Correct!” Blue smiled.

“On both accounts,” Black added with a smirk.

“R-right… So then by process of elimination, Edge and Mutt would be the final team, yeah?”

“It would appear that would be the case,” Edge shrugged with an air of indifference.

“Very good!” Paps exclaimed. “Now that the teams are set, let us move out to the porch to play!”

The eight of you migrated outside and in no time, two tables were set up, one for the active game and one to move the ‘used’ cups to, in order to more quickly set up the next round. Extra drinks were brought outside in a large tub of ice for everyone, and before the games could begin, you decided to clarify some of the rules.

“Okay, before we start, I wanna make sure we’re all on the same page with the rules. I don’t know if you all have some fancy monster version of beer pong, but rule number one, no fancy magic tricks; aka no using magic to cheat.” You sent a stern look to everyone, focusing on Red and Mutt, who were trying and failing to look innocent. “Rule number two, no interfering with anyone’s shot. No guarding the cups or deflecting the ball away. Rule number three,” you continued as everyone nodded along with your stipulations. “Bouncing the ball in counts as two cups if it goes in, no matter how many times the ball bounces. Number four, re-racks can only be called at 6 cups and 3 cups,” you paused and thought for a moment. “I think that just about covers it. Anyone have anything else?”

When no one had anything else, the first round of the tournament began. Black and Blue stepped up to one end of the table as you and Rus stepped up to the other end. The cups were set up, and the four of you started to play.

Many rounds of beer pong later, the alcohol was affecting everyone and making the game that much more interesting. It was finally time to start the finals after everyone had completed their best-of-three rounds against each other team. The match was set for you and Rus to take on Edge and Mutt, and the excitement was building. Black and Blue were watching from one side cheering on both teams equally, and for as good of a tag team as they made normally, they both kinda sucked at beer pong. Red was another one that was shockingly bad, and even with how impressive Paps was with his aim, it just wasn’t enough to make up for Red’s lackluster performance.

You and Rus started off, since you two had the lower win-loss record, and the game quickly escalated into a frenzy of ping-pong balls flying across the table. Edge and Mutt managed to take game one, but you hadn’t made it easy for them. You and Rus had gotten them down to a single cup before they claimed victory. The cups were re-racked on the second table for game two as you turned to Rus.

“We were  _ so _ close!” you knocked your shoulder against his. “This  _ is _ going to game three! We’re gonna kick their asses!” you declared enthusiastically.

“darlin’, there’s a bit of a flaw in your plan,” Mutt snickered from across the table.

“We don’t  _ have _ asses to be kicked,” Edge grinned, the alcohol in his system allowing him to relax a bit, “but  _ you _ do.”

“and what a fine ass it is,” Mutt drawled.

You blushed and hid your face in the back of Rus’ hoodie, “Un-unfair t-tactics!” you mumbled as the skeletons burst out laughing.

Rus twisted around and patted you on the shoulder sympathetically. “let’s g-get this st-started hun,” he smiled down at you. “b-but hey, it  _ is _ kinda nice,  _ tibia- _ nest. at least they’re not t-teasing me anymore,” he shrugged and gave you a smirk.

“Traitor!” you gasped before letting out a stream of giggles. “I’ll remember this, Honey Bunches! Just you wait!”

With that, game two of the finals kicked off and it was just as intense as the first game. Soon enough, Edge and Mutt only had one cup left on their side, while you and Rus were still at three. You threw the ball and held your breath as it soared through the air and headed straight for the cup. The ball fell into the cup without even brushing the rim, and you let out a cheer as Mutt drained the rest of his beer and cracked open a new one.

The rest of you topped off your drinks and the cups were reset for the final game. Just like the previous two games, it quickly grew intense, and stayed that way until both sides were down to their last cup. You lined up your shot and launched the ball, letting out a disappointed groan when it bounced off the rim and rolled away. Rus stepped up to take his turn and missed the cup completely, letting out a drunken giggle when the ball bounced off of Edge’s skull and Mutt managed to catch it on the rebound.

Your opponents took their turn, and just like that, the game was over as Mutt sunk his ball directly into the cup.

“Damn, good game guys. GGs,” you smiled at the two winning skeletons, before moving to help clean up the beer pong set up.

Once everything was packed up and put away, the entire group moved back into the living room for more movies. Snacks were made and brought out after everyone, including you, had changed into pajamas. When you rejoined the group, there was a bit of a debate going on over which movie to put on next. When you were asked for your input, you just shrugged, not really caring what you watched.

Letting the others continue to discuss the movie options, you grabbed your hoodie from the back of the couch and wandered through the kitchen, heading back out onto the porch for a smoke before the movies started. You looked up at the stars dotting the night sky as you lit your cigarette. Glancing over your shoulder when you heard the glass door slide open and closed again, you saw Mutt standing there nervously, dressed in a dark purple tank top and a pair of lounge pants patterned with tiny bones on them.

“uh, mind if i join ya darlin’?” he asked, holding up his dog treat.

“Sure,” you sent him a smile.

Mutt walked up next to you, his bare feet clacking against the wood of the porch. He lit his treat and took a long drag before he released a cloud of purple smoke along with a sigh. “we should talk b’fore the booze wears off and i lose m’nerve.”

“Only if you want to Mutt. No pressure.”

“you should know. i… sorta panicked when i found out that you were goin’ on the date with the cherry pie. i  _ know _ we haven’t known each other long, but… i have a tendency to get attached too quickly, and i was worried it was gonna turn into another situation like e-” He cut himself off and clapped a hand over his teeth, looking at you with mild alarm.

“Like what?” you looked up at Mutt, who shook his head, still covering his mouth. “Aww, Mutt. I ain’t gonna tell anyone and I ain’t gonna judge.” You gave him a reassuring smile.

The skeleton finally moved his hand and took another long drag from his dog treat. He looked at you for a moment before he sighed and ran a hand over his skull. “... edge...”

After a moment to process what he told you, a grin slowly spread across your face. “So… you wanna  _ bone _ the Edgelord?” you snickered as he frantically tried to shush you.

“not so loud darlin’!” Mutt hissed in a panic, his eyelights darting around.

“Fine, fine,” you rolled your eyes. “What’s stopping you then?”

“red. pretty sure he’d dust me if i even  _ attempted _ ta hint at anythin’.”

“The overprotective brother bullshit?” you asked, giving Mutt a knowing look. “I hate that, but Edge is his own person and is capable of making his own decisions.”

“i guess…”

“Mutt, you should at least give it a shot. What’s the worst that could happen?”

“comin’ home in a jar,” he huffed.

You shot him a flat look. “Red shouldn’t have any influence over your choices in whom to pursue romantically. And how does any of this relate to me?”

Mutt looked away before he answered, “back in the underground, after the merge, we all had our own ways t’cope with all the shit happenin’. rus started writin’ his books and songs, red and classic were doin’ somethin’ t’gether and i slept my way through half the underground.”

“I can see that,” you nodded in understanding. “Did you and Red try to go after the same partner or something?”

“no. my, uh, less than stellar reputation preceded me and the two of us started butting heads when all of us skeletons moved in t’gether.”

“Listen, Mutt. While I might not personally enjoy one night stands myself, if that’s who you are, you shouldn’t let anyone else try to change that. But, if you decide that you want to try something more serious, then that’s fine too. You don’t have to make any decisions right this second, but you  _ are _ allowed to do what makes you happy.” You discarded your cigarette in the ashtray before turning back towards the skeleton.

Mutt blinked a few times before he tossed his dog treat in the ashtray and threw his arms around you, pulling you close to him. “thanks, darlin’,” he murmured into your hair. “you, uh, won’t say anythin’ to anyone, right? at least until i figure my shit out?”

“Of course not,” you smiled, resting your head against his sternum. “We should hang out after work sometime when you guys don’t have practice,” you offered. “Just the two of us.”

“really?” Mutt pulled back slightly to look at you in disbelief. “what about red?”

“What about him?” you countered. “I see him all day at work and besides, me and him already  _ had _ a conversation about all of this. I can’t go back to monogamous relationships… they just don’t end well for me… and I can’t expect any of you guys to stop doing whatever you need to in order to take care of your heats. I don’t know enough to even  _ think _ about offering to help out with that right now,” you shrugged, smirking slightly when you noticed Mutt was glowing a faint violet again.

Tightening his embrace, Mutt buried his face in your hair and whispered with a hint of awe in his voice, “how are you so perfect, darlin’?”

“P-p-perfect?” you spluttered in embarrassment. “I’m hardly p-perfect. Like, it’s probably easier to list the things that  _ aren’t _ wrong with me, heh,” you chuckled nervously. “Let’s go back inside before anyone comes looking for us, okay Mutt?”

“gimme a little bit longer darlin’? please?”

You let out a sigh as the two of you remained out on the porch for a few more minutes before you separated and Mutt trailed along behind you as you entered the house.

Joining the others in the nest on the living room floor, you passed off your phone to someone who could reach the outlets so it could charge overnight. The first movie was started and someone placed a bowl of popcorn in your lap, since you had ended up in the middle of everyone. Several movies later, all the snacks had been eaten and one by one, everyone drifted off to sleep with the next movie playing in the background.


	10. Marching to the Grand Pause Before the Pomp and Circumstance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You wake up in a pile of bones... oh wait! That's just your skele-boys, who've decided to take care of you *wink, wink, nudge, nudge* on your birthday!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAHHhhhh!!!! I'm so sorry this took forever to get out! I have no good reason for it... just excuses... But! a HUGE shout out to SesuRescue for the metaphorical kick in the ass to start writing again. Anyway I hope you all enjoy, and look forward to some karaoke in the next chapter! 
> 
> <3 Kazul

Waking up in the middle of a cuddle puddle wasn’t a new experience for you, however, waking up amidst a tangle of skeletons was certainly a first. Blinking a few times to try to clear the haze of sleep, you tried your best to figure out what was attached to who in the dim light filtering through the curtains. Somehow you had ended up using Red as a pillow, with him laying sideways and your head on his chest. Mutt was curled up around one side of you, his head on your shoulder and one arm thrown over your waist. Black and Blue were spooning on the other side of you, using your arm as a pillow, which you found absolutely adorable. Lifting your head slightly, you spotted Rus curled up between you and Mutt, hugging your leg, with his skull resting on your hip. Paps was laying behind Mutt, laying on Red’s legs with one of his arms thrown over Mutt and his phalanges were tangled in the hem of your pajama shirt. It seemed for the moment, that the only skeleton  _ not _ touching you was Edge.

Looking around as best you could, given the situation, you spotted two red eyelights watching you from one of the armchairs, Either he was a  _ very _ early riser, or he had slept in that chair and had woken up when he heard you moving around. Not even Paps was awake yet, and you knew for a fact he got up at stupid o’clock in the morning.

“Edgelord?” you breathed, trying to keep your voice as low as possible, trying not to wake any of the others. “Mind giving me a hand here?” you asked, glancing around at the skeletons surrounding you.

Silence was the only response that you got, followed by Edge rolling his eyelights before holding out his right hand towards you. A moment later, you were enveloped by a soft red glow and felt yourself being lifted out of the nest of skeletons. Pillows were shoved into the now vacant spot where you had been, and you were carefully placed on your feet in front of a smirking Edge.

Before you could even think about saying anything, Edge held up a finger to his teeth to signal for silence, and gestured for you to follow him into the kitchen.

Nodding, you grabbed your hoodie before following after the tall skelly. You dug out an energy drink from the fridge where you had stashed it the night before and grabbed a slice of your leftover pizza for good measure. Taking a bite out of the cold pizza, you cracked open the can one handed and looked over at Edge.

“That’s disgusting,” he scoffed as you finished your mouthful and washed it down with your energy drink.

Shrugging your shoulder, you smiled up at him. “Eh, shut up, Edgelord. It’s my birthday. I can do what I want.”

“I am aware.”

“How? I only told Red,” you glanced at Edge suspiciously.

“And  _ my brother _ ,” he stressed, sending you a pointed look, “informed me and I passed it along to the others. Also, this has been going off for a while,” he added holding up your phone.

“Hey! Gimme that!” you tried to grab your phone, but missed as he held it up out of your reach.

“I don’t think so,” he smirked.

“Fuck you, Edge,” you grumbled like the mature adult you were, angrily tearing off another bite of your pizza slice.

“Maybe later, kitten,” Edge grinned, causing you to almost choke on your mouthful of pizza. “Besides, the kitchen is no place for such activities.” He smirked again as he slipped your phone into his pants pocket. “I  _ was _ going to make you something for breakfast, but you seem to have that covered,” he added, gesturing towards the half eaten slice of cold pizza in you hand with a look of disgust.

“Yep, I’m good,” you agreed, eyeing his pocket where your phone was being held hostage. “Now, if I had my phone, I’d be golden.”

“I’ll give back in a little while,” the skeleton waved his hand dismissively. “Come, finish your ‘breakfast’ and I’ll join you outside. There is something I wish to discuss with you.”

“Because that’s not ominous at all…” you huffed before you raised an eyebrow at him. “ _ You _ smoke?”

“On occasion,” Edge shrugged.

“Then why don’t you want Red buying cigarettes?” you questioned, shoving the last bit of pizza in your mouth.

“Because he leaves half empty packs all over the house!” Edge scoffed, before adding softly, “and I would usually finish off the packs…”

“Ah,” you nodded after finishing your mouthful and taking a swig of your energy drink. “Makes sense.” You set the can down on the table and made your way outside, stopping to look at the sky once you had stepped out onto the porch. The faintest hints of sunrise were beginning to color the sky, and you let out a sigh as you lit a cigarette and turned to offer him your pack. “What the hell time is it anyway?”

“Roughly 5:30,” the tall, dark, and edgy skeleton shrugged, taking a cigarette and lighting it with practiced ease.

The two of you stood there in the early morning light for a few minutes in silence, with only the sounds of nature starting to arise being heard. After a few moments more, you looked over to the tall skeleton. 

“What did you want to ‘discuss’ with me, Edgelord?” you sighed, releasing a puff of smoke.

“I’m unsure if this would be appealing to you, but the South Shore Symphony has a concert at the end of the month, where they will be performing Stravinsky’s _ The Rite of Spring _ . Normally, Paps would attend these sorts of things with me, but he’s supposed to be in heat for this one…” Edge explained, the faintest dusting of a crimson blush coloring his cheek bones. “Would you… like to go with me?”

“Sure! I love  _ The Rite of Spring _ , even if it’s a bitch and a half to play… stupid tenor clef solos.”

“You’ve played it?” Edge tilted his head towards you in question.

“Not  _ technically _ ,” you admitted. “As in, none of the groups I’ve played with have ever performed it, but my mom has, and apparently is again, and she gave me a copy of her part.”

“What do you play?”

“Well, my main instrument currently is bassoon, but I started on clarinet way back in second grade, and still play duets on it sometimes.”

“Fascinating,” the skeleton hummed in thought.

“Back in high school, I was jokingly given the title of ‘Queen of the Low Woodwinds’, since I played and performed on so many of them,” you shrugged. “It’s what happens when you grow up with a music teacher for a mother, I guess.”

“So tell me, oh Queen of the Low Woodwinds, what else can you play?” Edge smirked.

With an eye roll, you began to list them off. “Bassoon, clarinet, bass clarinet, contrabass clarinet, contra-alto clarinet, alto, tenor, and bari sax. I played oboe for, like, half a year. I can sorta play flute and get sounds out on a piccolo, but I’ve never performed on either and I always get tripped up with the fingerings. Oh and I can also sorta play trumpet/cornet, but I suck with partials and therefore stick to the woodwinds.”

“Very nice,” Edge nodded approvingly. “Do you have any concerts coming up?”

“Nope, no rehearsals for the time being either, at least until the fall,” you replied, finishing off your smoke. As the two of you walked backed into the house, you asked, “So what made you start playing the drums?”

“The others needed a drummer,” Edge stated simply, moving around the kitchen to set a pot of coffee to brew, knowing the scent would rouse the others, and the lazier skeletons would nap later if they needed it. “That aside, I do enjoy the discipline of keeping a steady beat, while adding all the flair of performing the various genres of music that we do.”

“Huh, to be completely honest,” you nodded thoughtfully, grabbing you energy drink off of the table, “I was expecting something along the lines of ‘I like to hit things’, or something like that.” You dropped your voice lower, trying and failing to imitate Edge’s voice.

“Was that your pitiful attempt to mock me?” he raised a brow bone at you with a smirk. “Because that was simply dreadful.”

“Shut up, it’s early and I haven’t finished my energy drink yet…” you pouted.

“So, what are your plans, if any, for today?” Edge asked, chuckling lightly at your antics.

You shrugged. “Dunno. Other than cooking with you and Paps, I didn’t really have anything else in mind. Tomorrow I’m going to my parents’ house for a combined birthday and Mother’s Day thing with the extended family. Maybe I’ll swing by Elsewhere for karaoke again, but I’ll see how I’m feeling later.”

Edge nodded, but before he could say anything else, the others began to shuffle into the room, drawn in by the fresh brewed coffee aroma wafting through the air.

“Morning, boys,” you greeted, getting a variety of responses as they gathered around the still brewing coffee pot. You leaned back against the counter to watch in amusement as everyone settled around the table with their mugs, including Sans, who had been absent from the previous night’s activities.

“ya wanna do anythin’ special t’day, doll?” Red questioned once he was slightly more coherent, though his voice was still rough with sleep.

“Like I was telling Edge earlier, tomorrow is all the ‘formal’ family nonsense, so other than cooking, I was really just planning on chilling with some video games or TV or something. Maybe stop by karaoke again tonight, depending on my mood,” you shrugged.

“Oh! What an excellent idea!” Paps exclaimed. “We can cook the spaghetti and lasagna for lunch and then we can all go out to celebrate your birthday!”

“Uh, sure,” you shrugged again as the boys all echoed variations of ‘Happy Birthday, ___. “Thanks guys,” you smiled at them, but paused when you heard your phone start to go off with the distinct vibration pattern you had set for Will. “Edgelord,” you demanded with your hand outstretched in his direction, “phone.  _ Now. _ ”

Inclining his head with another smirk, he passed you the buzzing device without putting up a fight. You snatched it up quickly and swiped the screen to answer the call, moving outside to talk without disturbing the others. 

“Morning,” you greeted your friend on the other side of the phone.

“Morning, ___. Happy birthday.”

“Thanks!” you said brightly. In the middle of catching up with Will, you interrupted yourself, “oh, I spent the night with the guys, if you wanted to meet them. I can switch to video and introduce you.”

“The  _ guys? _ You put together your harem that quickly?” Will asked with a chuckle.

“Shut up! It’s not like that…” you bit your lip as you glanced back into the kitchen where the skeletons were. “Yet…” you added with a small smile.

“Pfft! Is one of them Red?” Will asked, full out cackling at this point.

“Yes. Now I’m gonna switch over to video, so be nice.”

“I’m  _ always _ nice, ___.”

“Bullshit,” you muttered and rolled your eyes as you turned on the camera. “Everyone just woke up, so don’t expect any intelligent conversation, fair warning.”

“Do I ever get any when I call you?” Will teased with a roll of his eyes.

“Asshole, do you want to meet then or not?” you asked, walking back inside and causing all of the guys to look over at you.

“Yes, yes, introduce me to this future harem of yours.”

“ _ Will _ !” you groaned as your phone was plucked out of your hand by Red.

“who wants ta meet us, doll?” he raised a brow bone at the phone, as Will started cracking up when Red came into frame.

“Holy shit, ___! He’s a skeleton! Are they  _ all _ skeletons? Does this mean you wanna  _ bone  _ a _ skeleton crew _ ?” your friend was practically wheezing from laughing so hard.

“I hate you all...” you grumbled as you attempted to snatch your phone back from Red, who easily dodged your attempts. “Hey, jerkoff, give it back!”

“nah, doll,” Red chuckled, teleporting to the other side of the kitchen with a wink to avoid another one of your attempts at retrieving your phone.

The lazier of the skeletons, minus Sans, who had disappeared again while you were outside, gathered around your phone to talk to Will, eventually exchanging numbers to try and get more information on you from a reliable source. You watched with growing irritation and just as you were about to march over and take your phone back, you found yourself engulfed in a bony hug as Paps swept you up in his arms from behind.

“Good morning, ___!” he greeted you enthusiastically, swinging you around in a circle.

“Morning, Paps,” you huffed, accepting the fact that you were now trapped until the energetic skeleton decided to release you. “You did say good morning already, you know.”

“Of course I know that! The Great Papyrus just wants you to have an exceptionally splendiferous morning because it is the celebration of the day of your birth!” he explained, still refusing to relinquish his hold on you.

“Aww you’re such a sweetheart, Paps!” you cooed as Paps sat down at the table, pulling you into his lap. Peeking up at the skeleton, you caught the soft orange blush on his cheek bones.  _ Cute! _ you squealed mentally.

“So how is your special day going so far?” Paps asked, nuzzling the top of your head and causing you to blush.

“Honestly, this is probably one of the best I’ve ever had so far, and it’s still morning,” you admitted softly, so only Paps and Edge, who was lurking nearby, heard you. “It’s the first time I’ve spent my actual birthday with friends.” Raising your voice so the others would hear you, you added, “and it would be even better if the three stooges over there would give me my phone back!”

You looked over at the three skeletons still huddled around your phone and was met with a trio of sheepish glances, while Edge and Paps chuckled behind you. Rus was the one who finally gave in, slipping your phone out of Red’s grasp and walking it over to you.

“s-sorry, hun,” he smiled apologetically.

Returning the shy skelly’s smile with one of your own, you accepted the device he held out to you and turned your attention back to Will, forgetting for a moment where you were sitting.

“Nice  _ bone throne _ , ___,” Will snorted as he spotted Paps peering over your shoulder.

“Will, no,” you groaned.

“Will, yes,” he smirked.

“I hate you. When are you coming to visit me?”

“You love me, and next month, as soon as I confirm my time off with work.”

“Sounds good. Let me know when you find out the specifics.”

“Of course. Have a good birthday, and I’ll talk to you later, ___.”

“Later!” you smiled as you ended the call. Glancing around at the others in the kitchen, surprisingly still upright given the early time of day, everyone was still in their sleep clothes, sipping at coffee or tea, while waiting for one of the more energetic skeletons to start making breakfast. You moved to walk towards the door, but found yourself still trapped by a pair of bony arms around your waist. “Uh, Paps? Could you let me up? I want to go outside,” you asked, lightly tapping his arms.

“Oh! Yes! Of course!” Paps blurted out. “I had almost forgotten I was holding you! Nyeh heh heh! You are very warm and soft, like a beloved stuffed animal!” Paps shifted his eyelights side to side quickly as he added, “... not that The Great Papyrus still sleeps with any stuffed animals since he is no longer a babybones!”

“Hey, no worries, Paps,” you smiled and pat his shoulder reassuringly as he removed his arms from your waist. “I still sleep with stuffed animals, and I’m not a kid. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I don’t judge.” After Paps smiled and nodded at you, you made your way outside for a smoke. You were quickly joined by Mutt, Rus, and Red, each pulling out their own smokes.

“So if we go to Elsewhere tonight for karaoke, are you all gonna sing?”

“are y-you gonna s-sing, hun?” Rus asked in response.

“i’ll sing for ya anytime, darlin’,” Mutt smirked.

“ya ain’t even gotta ask, doll,” Red sent you a wink.

“I’ve already got a few songs in mind,” you shrugged, flicking some ash off your cig. “I’m gonna want to run home and change into something else before we go out,” you added offhandedly.

“i can ‘port ya home so ya can leave yer car here,” the shortest skeleton of the three offered.

“and ya should drag us along too, cherry pie,” Mutt raised his brow bone at Red, silently daring him to disagree, while Rus nodded along with Mutt.

“we c-can’t shortcut to p-places we’ve never been,” Rus explained to you. “this way a-any of us can get you to and from your place if needed.”

“Makes sense to me,” you shrugged, disposing of your cigarette in the ashtray on the railing. “I’m gonna go see when Edge and Paps wanna start cooking and then I plan on just chilling with whoever wants to until then.”

You made your way back into the house to find Edge or Paps to ask about lunch, but your plans were forcibly changed as you found yourself being led to the living room by Black and Blue, each grabbing hold of one of your wrists. Sans popped back downstairs as you entered the room and almost walked right into you, before catching himself and looking at you with his easy grin.

“mornin’, kid. uh, happy birthday.”

“Thanks, Sans,” you smiled, still being led by Black and Blue, “Are you going to be joining us tonight for karaoke?”

“ah, sorry… i gotta work again tonight,” Sans said guiltily. “maybe next time,” he added before shortcutting away.

“Yeah, okay… next time…” you mumbled, staring at the spot where he disappeared, struggling to keep the disappointment off your face.

“Hush, pet, none of that now,” Black finally spoke, attempting to soothe you.

“Come here and relax,” Blue said, gesturing to a massage table that had been set up in place of the nest of pillows from the night before. “Let us make you good,” the skeleton purred.

“I- I need to find out when Paps and Edge want to start lunch…” you protested weakly.

“They will come retrieve you when they are ready,” Black said, guiding you up onto the table and positioning you to lay on your stomach. “Just relax and enjoy this.”

Any further protests you might have had died the second you felt two sets of bony phalanges gently rubbing your shoulders and back. The pair must have been using their magic to warm their hands, and you were quickly lulled into a haze of bliss. You lost all track of time as the twin terrors worked their, heh,  _ magic _ on you, remaining blissfully unaware of the sounds of contentment you were making and the effect they were having on your skeletal masseuses.

Sometime later, you were snuggled up on the couch between Blue and Black, watching some cooking show on the Food Network, and feeling more relaxed than ever before. When Paps finally came in to get you for your cooking session, you wordlessly smiled and held your arms out, not unlike a small child asking to be picked up. With a roll of his eyelights, Paps carefully extracted you from the couch, once again surprising you with his strength, and carried you into the kitchen. You were so relaxed from the massage that you didn’t even bother to glare at the others who were snickering at your antics.

Once you were set on your feet, you shook yourself to clear your daze and you, Paps and Edge began preparing an Italian feast that would make your grandma proud. Not only did the three of you make lasagna and spaghetti, but you prepared some cheesy garlic bread and a caesar salad as well. Paps whipped up some meatballs to go with the spaghetti when you weren’t looking and before you knew it, all the preparation was finished. While you were cleaning up, your mother’s voice floated through your mind saying,  _ A clean kitchen is a happy kitchen _ . You made a face to yourself before you turned to Paps and Edge.

“So, I’m strongly leaning towards going out to karaoke tonight, and Mutt, Rus, and Red all agreed to sing tonight,” you started, wiping your hands on the dish towel. “What about the two of you?”

“I  _ suppose _ I could sing something,” Edge said with false exasperation.

“I… I am not so sure, ___,” Paps answered after a bit of hesitation. “The Great Papyrus is great at many things… but singing is not one of them…”

“That’s okay, Paps!” you reassured the skeleton. “You don’t have to sing if you don’t want to. And if you just don’t want to sing by yourself, I’ll sing with you! Or I’m sure one of the others would too.”

“I’ll consider it!” Paps brightened considerably. “Thank you, my dear!” 

“No worries, Paps,” you smiled again, leaning against the counter to chat with Paps and Edge while the three of you waited for the food to finish cooking.

Lunch was finally ready around 2pm and it went about as smoothly as could be expected with eight of you sitting around the table. Once again, Sans was missing, which you noted with a small sigh. You didn’t think you had done anything to upset him, hell, the only real conversation you had had with him had been at Forgotten Underground’s last show. You hoped it really was just a crappy work schedule that was causing him to miss out, and not the fact that he was trying to avoid you. Deciding to ask Red about it later, you turned your attention back to the various conversations happening around the table.

Once everyone had eaten their fill, the table was cleared and all the leftovers were packed away, you were chased out of the kitchen by Black and Blue, who had offered to take care of the dishes since you, Edge, and Paps had cooked. You ended up back on the couch, this time stretched out across Edge and Paps, once more watching the Food Network. Between your full belly and the soothing presence of the tall skellies, you ended up dozing off until Mutt, Rus, and Red shortcutted into the room, surprisingly all dressed up to go out later that night,

“hey, doll, ya ready to pop home?”

“those two must’ve worked ya  _ to th’ bone _ , darlin’.”

“ _ tibia  _ honest, you looked r-really c-cute like that, hun.”

The trio of punny skeletons all smirked, as Paps frowned and Edge’s eye socket twitched in annoyance. Silently and perfectly in sync, the two of them lifted you off of their laps and deposited you back on the couch they had vacated. Unable to resist, you called out to them as they moved to leave the room.

“Aww, c’mon guys! You can’t  _ patella _ me that you don’t enjoy a good  _ ribbing _ ! Don’t let these  _ bone _ -heads  _ get under your skin _ !”

The twin shouts of frustration were quickly drowned out by the trio of laughing skeletons still in the room with you. 

“that was beautiful, darlin’,” Mutt chuckled, wiping a fake tear from his socket.

“c’mere doll. i’m gonna need ta rest fer a minute afta i ‘port th’ four o’ us ta yer place,” Red rumbled, still smiling wider than normal from your barrage of puns.

“Okay! Let me grab my bag and we can get going,” you beamed up at the boys before moving to collect your backpack to bring back to your house. When you moved close to Red, signaling you were ready, you felt Mutt and Rus come up behind you and wrap their long arms around you.

“whenever you’re ready, cherry pie,” Mutt drawled.

“here we go then, close yer eyes, doll,” Red rolled his eyelights at Mutt, before pulling you close and dragging the four of you through a shortcut.


	11. Praises Sung by the Choir

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Karaoke time with your boys! Plus some other birthday surprises! ^_^

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Songs in this Chapter:  
> \---------------------------------  
> Dehumanized by Disturbed  
> Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy) by Big & Rich  
> Moon by The Cab  
> Monster by Skillet  
> Never Mind Me by Big & Rich  
> Heartbreaker by Pat Benatar  
> 

You don’t think you were ever going to get used to the sensation of the skeletons’ shortcuts, at least Red’s shortcuts. But since he was the only one that had taken a shortcut with you so far, you couldn’t say for certain that the others’ felt any different. As soon as you were steady on your feet, the trio of skeletons released you and Rus and Mutt immediately started exploring the first floor of your house.

“ ‘kay, bye...” you snorted to Red as he rolled his eyelights.

“i’ll keep ‘em in line, doll. ya can go git  _ dolled _ up fer t’night,” he rumbled, pressing his teeth to your temple in a skele-kiss.

“Thanks, Red” you smiled at the edgy skelly, and returned the kiss by pressing your lips to his cheek bone, smirking to yourself as he flushed bright red. “I won’t take too long, but if you or the others want to smoke, go out back and I’ll join you when I’m done.”

“ ‘kay doll,” Red agreed as he wandered off to find the taller two skeletons, still in a daze from your actions.

Shaking your head in amusement, you ran upstairs to your bedroom to change into your ‘going out’ clothes. Rifling through your closet, you lit up when you spotted your plaid purple knee length skirt.  _ Perfect! _ you cheered mentally.  _ Black leggings, purple heeled boots, and a black flowy top! _ you planned out your outfit in your head. Pulling out the complete ensemble, you changed quickly and moved in front of the mirror to slap on some eyeliner. Finishing up with some lip gloss, you smirked at your reflection and sent yourself a wink before heading back down stairs.

“damn, darlin’,” Mutt whistled appreciatively, “ya sure ya wanna go out t’night?”

“lookin’ good, doll,” Red grinned at you.

Rus just stared at you, an orange blush dusting his face. “i… i’ll m-m-meet y-you g-guys at th-the b-bar…” the shy skeleton stammered before abruptly shortcutting away.

“... did I break Rus?” you asked, staring at the space where said skeleton had just been.

“honeybun’ll git over it,” Red chuckled. “are we jes’ goin’ straight ta th’ bar, or ‘re we swingin’ back by th’ main house?”

“If everyone knows to just meet us at Elsewhere, then we can just head straight there,” you shrugged, looking between Red and Mutt.

“i’ll text my bro ta tell ‘em ta head over ‘nd wit’ th’ honeybun there, they’ll be able ta ‘port over in th’ car.”

“sounds like a plan, cherry pie. see ya there,” Mutt winked as he wrapped his arms around you. “darlin’s coming with me.”

“Mutt!” you cried out, laughing as he dragged you through a shortcut to Elsewhere and you noted that the shortcut was a little different than Red’s

Red popped up next to you shortly after you and Mutt arrived and was glaring daggers at the taller skeleton before you walked over to him.

“Hey, Red,” you said, getting his eyelights focused on you. “It’s all in good fun, yeah? Everyone’s fine, and we’re all gonna have a good time hanging out tonight.” You bit your lip as you thought of Sans and added, “Well, except for Sans, I guess, since he apparently has work tonight…”

“classic doesn’t work t’night,” Mutt drawled, with his brow bones furrowed in confusion.

“Oh…” you said, concluding that the eighth skeleton  _ was, _ in fact, trying to avoid you. “I guess he’s mad at me or something then…”

“aww, doll,” Red scratched the back of his skull. “i c’n talk ta classic fer ya. don’ worry ‘bout it fer t’night, jes’ have fun wit’ all th’ rest o’ us.” Red pulled you into a hug and Mutt joined in, wrapping his long arms around you from behind.

“let’s go get you a drink while we wait for the others, darlin’,” Mutt said right next to your ear.

Nodding mutely, you allowed yourself to be led into the bar by the two skeletons. Reid waved to you as soon as he spotted you walk through the door, and announced your arrival to the crowd. There was a cheer and calls of ‘happy birthday’, and someone handed you a cup of your Magic Blue Drink. Taking a sip, you followed Red and Mutt over to a table off to the side that would comfortably seat everyone, once the others arrived.

You sipped at your drink, wanting to at least  _ try _ to pace yourself, and watched as some of the other patrons in the bar took a turn on the stage, while waiting for the rest of the skeletons. Mutt and Red were sitting on either side of you, each with his own casual display of affection. Red was holding your hand under the table, his phalanges intertwined with you fingers, and Mutt had his arm draped across the back of your chair, his fingers tracing senseless shapes across the back of your neck and shoulders.

_ I could get used to this _ , you thought happily, knowing you would be purring if you were capable of it.  _ I just need to hook up Mutt and the Edgelord, with Red staying the hell out of it, and everything would be perfect. _

You were well into your second drink by the time the others arrived, apparently driving in a couple different vehicles instead of relying on Rus to shortcut them all. After you greeted them, you went over to Reid to give him your song choices, as well as warning him that most, if not all, of the skeletons with you would be singing as well, but you weren’t sure who was singing solos versus duets.

“Aight,” Reid smiled, bobbing his head up and down. “I’ll make it work, girl. I already put your name in as soon as you walked in, so you’re up next.”

“Thanks, Reid,” you beamed.

“What’re you singing first?”

Pointing to your choice of song, Reid smiled as he cued it up while you went to tell the skellies you were singing next. As you made your way back up to the stage, all seven skeletons were focused on you, watching your every move.

The music started up, reminding you of one of Forgotten Underground’s songs, and you stepped up to the mic and began to sing.

_ Lost in slumber _

_ A threat to no one _

_ Weak and humbled _

_ In my disgrace _

_ Sweet departure _

_ Is what I long for _

_ Careless moments _

_ To comfort me _

_ Dead philosophy _

_ If I offer you my soul _

_ Will you carry me away? _

_ I cannot be the only one _

_ To be dehumanized again _

_ Left behind _

_ Too determined _

_ To be forgotten _

_ Nothing left to enrapture me _

_ Hard and silent _

_ Softly breaking _

_ No beloved, _

_ to comfort me _

_ Ooh, dead philosophy _

_ If I offer you my soul _

_ Will you carry me away? _

_ I cannot be the only one _

_ To be dehumanized again _

_ Left behind _

_ Feel the determination built into my mind _

_ You're never gonna find me _

_ I'll wipe the world away _

_ Your face it will remind me _

_ Just how much I have to leave _

_ If I offer you my soul _

_ Will you carry me away? _

_ I cannot be the only one _

_ To be dehumanized again, tell _

_ If I offer you my soul _

_ Will you carry me away? _

_ I cannot be the only one _

_ To be dehumanized again _

_ Left behind _

_ Into my mind _

The bar burst into applause when the song finished and you waved to everyone before making your way back over to the table of skeletons. You stopped short when you noticed each and every one of them were avoiding making eye contact with you and their faces were glowing various shades of red, orange, blue and purple.

“Uh guys?” you asked, raising an eyebrow at the light show. “Oh, come on! I wasn’t even _ trying _ to break anyone this time! What’d I do now?” you whined and crossed your arms with a huff.

The boys were silent, and it stretched on long enough for the next person to start singing. You looked at each skeleton in turn, wordlessly asking for an explanation, until the impromptu standoff was broken by Mutt clearing his non-existent throat.

“ya, uh, wanna grab a smoke, darlin’?” he asked, rubbing the back of his skull, his eyelights briefly flicking up to you before going back to looking at anything  _ but _ you.

“Will it get me an explanation for the Christmas light impersonations?” you huffed, glancing over the rest of the still blushing skeletons.

“sure, darlin’, i’ll tell ya whatever ya wanna know,” Mutt drawled, moving over to stand behind you, wrapping his arms around your waist. “close your eyes, and i’ll get us outside.”

Sending the skeleton a half-hearted glare, you let your eyes slip closed and felt yourself being pulled through a shortcut to the side of the building, where you had met Rus for the first time. Opening your eyes again, you let out a sound of protest when Mutt tightened his grip on you and buried his skull in your neck.

“Mutt?” you asked, as you tried and failed to light your smoke without being able to turn away from the slight breeze floating through the alley way.

“sorry, darlin’...” he mumbled into your neck. “it’s a bit embarrassin’ ta talk about…”

“Really? I didn’t think you got embarrassed by anything, but I was only gonna ask to move so I could light my cig.”

“ah, sorry,” Mutt shifted the two of you so that you were able to light up without issue. “so… you really have no clue what your singin’ did ta all of us?”

“Umm… no, not really,” you frowned lightly, trying to peek at the skeleton, who was still stubbornly hiding his face.

“d’ya know what souls are?”

“I know that humans have several different interpretations of what a soul is,” you said carefully. “I can’t say I know what monsters believe about them, though.”

“ s’not about belief with monsters, darlin’. souls are the culmination of our very bein’s. we’re not made of soft, warm, fleshy bits like you are. we’re made of magic and our souls are what make us what we are.”

“So… it’s an actual tangible thing?” you asked, fascinated by the thought. “Is the same true for humans?”

“yep. i’d offer ta show ya but this ain’t the time or place. monsters only show their souls ta others they completely trust, and even then, it’s one of the most intimate things ya can do with someone.”

“Have… have you ever shared your soul with anyone?” you asked, feeling nervous about his answer for some reason.

“never,” you felt Mutt shaking his head against you. “my body? sure. i know i can be free with my body, but i can respect the intimacy of my soul.”

“I see… So when I sang ‘If I offer you my soul, will you carry me away’, what exactly did that mean to you all?”

“ya basically were proposin’ marriage in monster terms... ” Mutt let out a low chuckle. “It sounded like ya were offerin’ up yourself entirely. i bet ya caused every single one of us ta pop a  _ bone _ -r. i know i did…”

“Oh, really?” you quirked a brow as a mischievous smirk played on your lips. Before Mutt had a chance to respond, you took half a step backwards, so that your backside was flush up against the skeleton. Mutt let out a low growl as his grip on your waist tightened, and you could very clearly feel the extra  _ bone _ in his pants.

“your playin’ with fire there, darlin’,” Mutt growled into your ear as he rolled his hips against you.

Blushing furiously, you found yourself speechless as you tried to process what you had gotten yourself into. The only thought that seemed to stick in your mind was,  _ Holy shit, he’s big! _

Mutt let out a low throaty chuckle as he stilled his movements. “yer makin’ it real  _ hard _ ta behave m’self, darlin’, but i’ll be a good boy for th’ whole night if ya let me get away with one little thing…” he purred, loosening his arms around your waist to slide his hands down your sides, coming to rest on your hips.

“Oh, really?” you challenged again, your brain able to function again. Well… somewhat at least. Moving quickly, you took advantage of Mutt’s change in grip to spin around quickly and loop a finger through the metal ring on his collar and pulled him down so you were face to face. “Like this?” you smirked as you planted your lips on his teeth.

Your actions took the skeleton by surprise and he took a moment to respond, but when he did, he quickly dominated the kiss. One of his hands made its way to the small of your back, while the other was threaded into your hair as he gently moved you backwards until you were up against the side of the building. 

You felt a tingling sensation on your lips as Mutt’s magic sparked to life and his conjured tongue requested entrance. Letting out a soft gasp of surprise, your eyes fell closed as you parted your lips and let Mutt completely fill your senses. When you finally pulled away to catch your breath, the skeleton let out a small whine of protest, drawing a breathless chuckle from you.

“heh, darlin’,” Mutt said, just as breathless as you, “it’s your birthday, but i feel like i’m the one gettin’ the present.”

You blushed as you pulled out another cigarette and lit it, your first one having been dropped and forgotten in the momentary flash of passion. “I think this was a win-win situation for both of us,” you giggled. “I enjoyed it too,” you admitted shyly.

“does that mean i can expect a repeat performance?” the skeleton said with a smile and a wink.

“Maybe,” you shrugged, trying to play it cool and failing miserably, sending yourself into a fit of giggles. You moved so you were leaning against Mutt, and simply enjoyed his company as you smoked.

When the two of you finally headed back inside and rejoined the others, everyone appeared to have gotten themselves under control, with only Rus and Paps still blushing faintly. Judging by the amount of empty glasses on the table, you suspected that Rus’s blush may have also been caused in some part by the alcohol.

Giggling to yourself, you sat down next to Red again and leaned against him as you addressed the table. “So who’s gonna be singing first?” you asked looking at each of them. “And who’s gonna go get me another drink?”

“i’ll g-go get y-your drink, h-hun,” Rus offered, shaking his own empty glass. “i’m a-all out m-myself.”

“Thanks Rus. Magic Blue Drink, please!” you called after him.

“We’ll be singing first, pet,” Black answered your first question, gesturing to himself and Blue. “I believe we’re up next.”

“Break a leg!” you smiled as they headed up to the stage. You clapped your hands with a giggle as you immediately recognized the intro of the song, smiling as you noticed how well the two skeletons harmonized, even with most of Black’s parts being closer to speaking than actual singing.

_ (Black/Blue) Well, I walk into the room _

_ Passing out hundred dollar bills _

_ And it kills, and it thrills, like the horns on my Silverado grill _

_ And I buy the bar double round of Crown _

_ And everybody's getting down _

_ An' this town, ain't never gonna be the same _

_ Cause I saddle up my horse _

_ And I ride into the city _

_ I make a lot of noise _

_ Cause the girls _

_ They are so pretty _

_ Riding up and down Broadway _

_ On my old stud Leroy _

_ And the girls say _

_ Save a horse, ride a cowboy _

_ Everybody says _

_ Save a horse, ride a cowboy _

_ Well I don't give a dang about nothing _

_ I'm singing and bling-blinging _

_ While the girls are drinking _

_ Long necks down! _

_ And I wouldn't trade ol' Leroy _

_ Or my Chevrolet for your Escalade _

_ Or your freak parade _

_ I'm the only John Wayne left in this town _

_ Cause I saddle up my horse _

_ And I ride into the city _

_ I make a lot of noise _

_ Cause the girls _

_ They are so pretty _

_ Riding up and down Broadway _

_ On my old stud Leroy _

_ And the girls say _

_ Save a horse, ride a cowboy _

_ Everybody says _

_ Save a horse, ride a cowboy _

_ (Black) I'm a thoroughbred _

_ That's what she said _

_ In the back of my truck bed _

_ As I was gettin' buzzed on suds _

_ Out on some back country road. _

_ We were flying high _

_ Fine as wine, having ourselves a big and rich time _

_ And I was going, just about as far as she'd let me go. _

_ (Black/ Blue) But her evaluation _

_ Of my cowboy reputation _

_ Had me begging for salvation _

_ All night long _

_ So I took her out giggin frogs _

_ Introduced her to my old bird dog _

_ (Black) And sang her every Willie Nelson song I could think of _

_ (Black/Blue) And we made love _

_ (Black/Blue) Cause I saddle up my horse _

_ And I ride into the city _

_ I make a lot of noise _

_ Cause the girls _

_ They are so pretty _

_ Riding up and down  _ _Broadway_

_ On my old stud  _ _Leroy_

_ And the girls say _

_ Save a horse, ride a cowboy _

_ Everybody says _

_ Save a horse, ride a cowboy _

_ What? What? _

_ Save a horse ride a cowboy _

_ Everybody says _

_ Save a horse ride a cowboy _

“Oh my gods, you two! That was amazing! It was just like actually listening to Big & Rich!” you squealed as the pair returned to your group.

“Thank you, ___!” Blue beamed at you.

“We’re glad you enjoyed it, pet,” Black purred as the duo sat down.

“guess that m-means i’m up,” Rus said, standing up and downing a large portion of his drink. “hope you l-like it, hun,” he winked to you before stepping through a shortcut and popping up next to Reid causing the DJ to jump. Rus moved over to the mic, smiling over at you as the music started playing, keeping his eyelights on you as he sang.

_ It's so fake, this world of ours _

_ More satellites than shooting stars; they're all around _

_ Yeah, their broken hearts on the boulevard _

_ You know this world will leave you scarred and let you down _

_ By leaving here with you, one of you will be living on the dark side _

_ Yeah, right here, right now, we'll leave this crowded room _

_ I'll take your body to the moon _

_ Then I'll let you turn it around _

_ Girl, let's show me something new _

_ Let me watch you take it off now _

_ Baby, we don't need these lights _

_ 'Cause you'll be seeing stars tonight _

_ I'll take your body to the moon _

_ Let's fly! _

_ Let's fly! _

_ Let's not complicate the night _

_ Just look up, everything is black and white _

_ If the universe is you and I, _

_ Then I know everything is gonna be alright _

_ So tell me, what do you have to lose? _

_ Don't you let this moment pass you by _

_ Yeah, right here, right now, we'll leave this crowded room _

_ I'll take your body to the moon _

_ Then I'll let you turn it around _

_ Girl, let's show me something new _

_ Let me watch you take it off now _

_ Baby we don't need these lights _

_ 'Cause you'll be seeing stars tonight _

_ I'll take your body to the moon _

_ Let's fly! _

_ Let's fly! _

_ By leaving here with you, one of you will be living on the dark side _

_ Yeah, right here, right now, we'll leave this crowded room _

_ I'll take your body to the moon _

_ Then I'll let you turn it around _

_ Girl, let's show me something new _

_ Let me watch you take it off now _

_ Baby we don't need these lights _

_ 'Cause you'll be seeing stars tonight _

_ I'll take your body to the moon _

_ Let's fly! _

_ Let's fly! _

Rus was blushing fiercely when he returned to the table, and you were in much the same state. Without looking over to you, he asked, “s-so, w-what’d you th-think, hun?”

“Well, it certainly wasn’t what I was expecting from you, Rus,” you teased. “I mean I expect something like that from Mutt,” you jerked your thumb at said skeleton who shrugged and chuckled in agreement.

“... i blame the booze…” Rus muttered, pulling his hood up to hide his skull.

“Aww, honey, don’t hide!” you cooed, pushing out of your seat and moving to drape yourself over the shy skeleton. “I liked it! A lot!”

Rus mumbled under his breath, low enough that you couldn’t understand him, but you smiled regardless and rubbed your cheek on the top of his covered skull. 

“Ruuuus,~” you sing-songed. “Come on out, pretty please?” You leaned forward, over his shoulder to try to peek at his face and swore you caught literal hearts in his eye sockets before he blinked and averted his eyelights. “Aww, honeybun, don’t  _ bee _ like that,” you purred.

For a moment nothing happened, but then all at once, there was a blur of motion and you suddenly found yourself sitting sideways in Rus’s lap. The shy skeleton was still avoiding eye contact with you, but his arms snaked around your waist and a shy but smug smile appeared on his skull.

“stay here f-for a b-bit?” he asked, finally meeting your gaze. 

“Of course,” you smiled back, before giving him a sideways glance. “Don’t think this means I’m letting you steal my booze again.”

“wouldn’t d-dream of it, hun,” Rus chuckled as he rested his chin on your shoulder to watch with you as Edge took his turn on stage. You leaned into Rus’s chest as Edge stepped up to the mic and the music rolled through the speakers.

_ The secret side of me, I never let you see _

_ I keep it caged but I can't control it _

_ So stay away from me, the beast is ugly _

_ I feel the rage and I just can't hold it _

_ It's scratching on the walls, in the closet, in the halls _

_ It comes awake and I can't control it _

_ Hiding under the bed, in my body, in my head _

_ Why won't somebody come and save me from this, make it end? _

_ I feel it deep within, it's just beneath the skin _

_ I must confess that I feel like a monster _

_ I hate what I've become, the nightmare's just begun _

_ I must confess that I feel like a monster _

_ I, I feel like a monster _

_ I, I feel like a monster _

_ My secret side I keep hid under lock and key _

_ I keep it caged but I can't control it _

_ 'Cause if I let him out he'll tear me up, break me down _

_ Why won't somebody come and save me from this, make it end? _

_ I feel it deep within, it's just beneath the skin _

_ I must confess that I feel like a monster _

_ I hate what I've become, the nightmare's just begun _

_ I must confess that I feel like a monster _

_ I feel it deep within, it's just beneath the skin _

_ I must confess that I feel like a monster _

_ I, I feel like a monster _

_ I, I feel like a monster _

_ It's hiding in the dark, it's teeth are razor sharp _

_ There's no escape for me, it wants my soul, it wants my heart _

_ No one can hear me scream, maybe it's just a dream _

_ Maybe it's inside of me, stop this monster _

_ I feel it deep within, it's just beneath the skin _

_ I must confess that I feel like a monster _

_ I hate what I've become, the nightmare's just begun _

_ I must confess that I feel like a monster _

_ I feel it deep within, it's just beneath the skin _

_ I must confess that I feel like a monster _

_ I've gotta lose control, here's something radical _

_ I must confess that I feel like a monster _

_ I, I feel like a monster _

_ I, I feel like a monster _

_ I, I feel like a monster _

_ I, I feel like a monster _

After Edge had finished up on stage, you tapped Rus on his arm three times, silently asking him to release you with a ‘tap-out’ signal. When you were free, you hopped to your feet and moved over to Edge, throwing your arms around his shoulders as he came up beside the table.

“That was amazing!” you praised, missing the crimson blush on his skull. “I always love listening to you sing!”

“Thank you, kitten,” Edge said softly, carefully putting his arms around you. “Shall we sit down?”

You nodded and followed him to his seat. Once he sat down, he huffed for a split second before he pulled you to sit in his lap. Someone else, not in your group, was taking a turn at the microphone, while you turned to your skellies. 

“So, I’m going to sing at least one more song,” you started. “Who else is going up?”

Mutt and Red shared a look while Paps shook his head in the negative.

“I’m not feeling much like singing tonight,” he stated apologetically. “Perhaps another time, my dear.”

“we’re gonna go up next then, doll,” Red rumbled, with Mutt nodding off to the side.

“You two are gonna sing together?” your voice was filled with disbelief as you crossed your arms and leaned back against Edge.

“yep,” Mutt grinned. “we’ve done it b’fore, darlin’.”

“Color me impressed, but skeptical. I’ll believe it when I see it,” you challenged the two of them.

You received twin smirks in response as they headed up to the stage when it was their turn.

The music started up with an acoustic guitar into and your brows arched in surprise when you heard yet another Big & Rich song echoing through the bar.

_ (Red) If you see me on the street, _

_ Lookin' like I ain't slept in a week, hey _

_ Don't worry baby _

_ Find me closing down the bar, _

_ (Mutt) Catch me crawlin' to my car, hey _

_ Just look the other way _

_ And if I'm by myself with a twisted face _

_ Fillin' up on comfortable space _

_ (Red) Never mind me  _

_ (Mutt) (I'll be just fine talkin' to myself) _

_ (Red) Never mind me  _

_ (Mutt) (Sittin' all alone inside my personal hell) _

_ (Red) I'm just doing  _

_ (Mutt/ Red) fine _

_ Never mind me _

_ (Mutt) Well if you can't comprehend _

_ Why I'd be kissin' your best friend, hey _

_ Just keep on walkin' baby _

_ (Red) 'Cause when you're sittin' on the edge _

_ Of a twenty story ledge, oh _

_ Well don't try to save me, no _

_ (Mutt) I'm probably lookin' at the sky _

_ Just tryin' to find a reason why _

_ (Red) Never mind me  _

_ (Mutt) (I'll be just fine talkin' to myself) _

_ (Red) Never mind me  _

_ (Mutt) (Sittin' all alone inside my personal hell) _

_ (Red) I'm just doing  _

_ (Mutt/ Red) fine _

_ Never mind me _

_ (Mutt/ Red) Don't remind me I'm not crazy _

_ Don't rewind me and replay me _

_ I'm just fine _

_ (Red) Never mind me  _

_ (Mutt) (I'll be just fine talkin' to myself) _

_ (Red) Never mind me  _

_ (Mutt) (Sittin' all alone inside my personal hell) _

_ (Red) I'm just doing  _

_ (Mutt/ Red) fine _

_ Never mind me _

_ (Red) Never mind me  _

_ (Mutt) (I'll be just fine talkin' to myself) _

_ (Red) Never mind me  _

_ (Mutt) (Sittin' all alone inside my personal hell) _

_ (Red) I'm just doing  _

_ (Mutt/ Red) fine _

“Wow…” you were shocked at how well the two skeletons pulled off the ballad-like song, and you told them as much.

“heh, thanks, doll,” Red said, blushing faintly at your praise, while Mutt just sent you a wink.

You hopped off of Edge’s lap to sit with Red and Mutt again, at least until you were called back up to sing.

“Have fun with this one, boys,” you smirked and sent them a flirty wink before you made your way back up to the stage. Nodding to Reid as you settled behind the mic, you pulled it off the stand to dance around as the music started rocking.

_ Your love is like a tidal wave, spinning over my head _

_ Drownin' me in your promises, better left unsaid _

_ You're the right kind of sinner, to release my inner fantasy _

_ The invincible winner, and you know that you were born to be _

_ You're a heartbreaker _

_ Dream maker, a love taker _

_ Don't you mess around with me _

_ You're a heartbreaker _

_ Dream maker, a love taker _

_ Don't you mess around, no no no _

_ Your love has set my soul on fire, burnin' out of control _

_ You taught me the ways of desire, now it's takin' its toll _

_ You're the right kind of sinner, to release my inner fantasy _

_ The invincible winner, and you know that you were born to be _

_ You're a heartbreaker _

_ Dream maker, a love taker _

_ Don't you mess around with me _

_ You're a heartbreaker _

_ Dream maker, a love taker _

_ Don't you mess around, no no no _

_ You're the right kind of sinner, to release my inner fantasy _

_ The invincible winner, you know that you were born to be _

_ You're a heartbreaker _

_ Dream maker, love taker _

_ Don't you mess around with me _

_ You're a heartbreaker _

_ Dream maker, love taker _

_ Don't you mess around with me _

_ You're a heartbreaker _

_ Dream maker, love taker _

_ Don't you mess around with me _

_ You're a heartbreaker _

_ Dream maker, love taker _

_ Heartbreaker _

After your song, you waved to the cheering crowd and walked back to your skeletons. The seven of them all praised you before you were dragged outside for a smoke by Red, Rus and Mutt.

You spent another few hours at the bar with the boys, enjoying your birthday celebration, and before you knew it, the clock hit midnight.

“Oh shit, it’s that late already?” you mused aloud.

“did ya wanna git goin’, doll?” Red asked.

“Yeah… that’d be the smart thing to do,” you nodded, before smacking your forehead and letting out a groan. “My car is still at your place…”

“one of us c-could ‘port over and b-bring you back t-to get it in the m-morning, hun,” Rus suggested.

“or you could spend th’ night again, darlin’,” Mutt offered, waggling his brow bones at you suggestively.

“I already brought my pajamas and everything back to my house,” you said flatly.

“so? we’ve got enough between us all that we can find somethin’ that’ll fit ya, darlin’.”

“or, i can git ya home ‘nd bring ya back ta their place in th’ mornin’,” Red interjected with a slight grumble.

“I think I’m gonna take Red’s offer… As much fun as I had last night, I wanna sleep in my own bed,” you said delicately, trying to gauge everyone’s reaction. You were mildly surprised when no one objected to your choice, instead just receiving smiles and nods.

Once everyone had finished their drinks, after you had proclaimed, “No one leaves while there’s still alcohol on the table!”, and everyone’s tabs were paid, your group split up to head home. Rus and Mutt opted to shortcut back, as the others piled into their cars while Red hung back with you until everyone else had left.

“ya ready, doll?” Red rumbled, pulling you close to him.

“Yeah, let’s go.”

One shortcut later and the two of you were standing in your living room. Immediately, you were pulling off your boots with a sigh of relief.

“Man these look sexy as hell, but they’re murder on my feet after wearing them all night,” you groaned as you tossed your shoes on a rack by the door.

“heh. ya don’ need fancy boots ta look sexy as hell, doll,” Red growled, leering over at you. 

“Red,” you made a face at him. “Flattery gets you nowhere.”

“ya sure ‘bout that?” he purred as he pulled you close to him and nuzzled into your neck.

“Ah, Red!” you giggled breathlessly. Biting your lip nervously, you peeked shyly at the skeleton. “Did… did you wanna spend the night?”

Red pulled away from you far enough to look you in the eyes, but simply stared at you. He opened his jaw a couple of times as if trying to say something but nothing came out.

“I just meant, spend the night with me. I mean, sleep with me - sleep in my bed- Argh! Gods dammit!” you stumbled over your words. “I’m not offering sex, Red. I was asking if you wanted to sleep in the same bed as me and maybe cuddle…” you let out a huff, blushing at your botched explanation.

The skeleton let out a soft chuckle, pulling you close again, “ ‘nd i thought  _ i _ was bad wit words. o’ course i’ll stay, doll. ain’t got my lounge clothed wit me though.”

“You’ve got boxers,” you shrugged before looking at the smirking skeleton with narrowed eyes. “Skeletons  _ do _ wear underwear, right?”

“yeah, we do, doll,” Red said once he stopped laughing at your suspicion.

“Fine. Sleep in your jeans for all I care,” you crossed your arms in a huff.

“aww, doll, ___, i was only teasin’,” he purred, running his hands along your arms. “go change inta yer pjs, we’ll go outside fer a smoke then we can head ta bed, ‘kay?”

“Fiiinnee,” you drew out the word petulantly before moving to your room to change. When you returned downstairs, Red had stripped out of his jacket and tossed it onto the couch, while you were getting changed.

The two of you grabbed a couple of water bottles out of the fridge to stave off any hangovers, had one last cigarette for the night and headed towards your bedroom. You immediately went over and sat on the edge of your bed, but Red hung back in the doorway, looking around nervously. You rolled your eyes at him and patted the bed next to you invitingly. When that failed to get him into motion, you let out a huff.

“Jesus Christ, Red! Take off your pants, get in the bed and cuddle me, dammit!” you said, failing to keep your amusement off of your face.

Red blushed at your forwardness as he obeyed, crawling into the bed to lay down on his side beside you. “s’this okay, doll?”

Instead of answering him verbally, you slid over next to him, and pushed him over so that he was laying on his back, before snuggling up to him so that your head rested on his shoulder, your arm was thrown over his chest and your leg was tangled with his.

“Shh, snuggle time now,” you hummed softly. “This is perfect.”

“y-yeah… ” Red agreed, shifting to wrap his arm around you as he pressed a toothy kiss to your hair. “g’night, doll.”

“Night, Red,” you murmured as you drifted off to sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Nicknames:  
> \-------------------------------  
> UT Sans = Classic or Sans  
> UT Papyrus = Paps  
> US Sans = Blue  
> US Papyrus = Rus  
> UF Sans = Red  
> UF Papyrus = Edge  
> SF Sans = Black  
> SF Papyrus = Mutt  
>   
> __________________________________________________________________  
> Deviant Art: [KazulStudios](https://www.deviantart.com/kazulstudios/)  
> Tumblr: [kazulstudios](https://kazulstudios.tumblr.com/)  
> Twitter: [@KazulStudios](https://twitter.com/KazulStudios/)


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